New Delhi: Indian stock markets closed lower on Monday, snapping their best weekly rally in six months. FMCG stocks dragged the market lower as weak third-quarter forecasts from Godrej Consumer fuelled concerns about a slowdown in demand across the sector.

The Sensex closed 200.66 points or 0.25% lower at 81,508.46 while the Nifty 50 index closed 58.80 points or 0.24% lower at 24,619.00.

Shares of companies in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sector saw the biggest decline, with Godrej Consumer Products shares falling more than 11%. Godrej Consumer said in its third-quarter business update that two-thirds of its business in India is facing demand and margin pressure due to high raw material prices and unfavorable weather. The company said that a 20-30% year-on-year increase in the prices of palm oil and related products has impacted the soap segment, which accounts for a third of the company's business alone.

Following the fall in Godrej Consumer shares, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Dabur India, Marico, Tata Consumer Products, Britannia , and Colgate also fell by 2% to 5%. Today, Godrej Consumer shares fell by 8.71% while the company's market cap is ₹ 1,15,232 crore.

Prashant Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities, said the markets were range-bound in today's session and spent most of the time in the negative zone due to a lack of enthusiasm among investors after last week's rally. He said, “Now all eyes are on this week's IIP (industrial production) and inflation data, which will decide whether the RBI is ready to cut rates due to high inflation or not.”