Indian share markets extended losses for the third trading session today.

Benchmark indices ended the volatile session on a weaker note while investors were spooked by Wall Street hitting a bear market milestone on fears of a looming recession.

However, domestic markets restrained from heavy sell-off as CPI data moderated on a monthly basis.

The wholesale-based inflation surged to 15.88% in May as against 15.08% in April and 13.11% in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The surge was mainly driven by vegetable inflation and increased prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, food and non-food articles, and chemical and chemical products.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex declined 153 points (down 0.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 42 points (down 0.3%).

NTPC, Ultratech Cement, and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers today.

IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Reliance Industries, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 15,713, down by 53 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended lower by 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

Among the sectoral indices, stocks in the auto sector, FMCG sector, and banking sector witnessed most of the selling.

On the other hand, some buying was seen among stocks in the metal sector, IT sector, and pharma sector.

Shares of Varun Beverages hit their 52-week high today.

The stock market is falling as there are inflation worries and geopolitical tensions remain an overhang.

Amid the volatility, many stocks have hit their 52-week lows, despite strong fundamentals.

Asian stock markets stagged some recovery ending on a mixed note. The Nikkei plunged 1.3% while the Shanghai Composite added 1%. The Hang Seng ended flat.

European shares are trading lower today as fears of Wall Street slipping into the bear market have dampened investor sentiment.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note with the Dow Futures trading up by 79 points.

The rupee is trading at 78 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 50,461 per 10 grams.

Investors in crypto markets are not having a good night's sleep as Bitcoin tumbled to an 18-month low, falling below US$21,000.

Investors shunned risky assets in the face of a global market selloff.

Many crypto exchanges have paused bitcoin withdrawals which lead to a sharp fall in the entire crypto market.

In news from the auto space, two- and three-wheeler major Bajaj Auto has deferred the stock buyback proposal.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said that further deliberations are required in order to make a decision on the proposal of buyback, and accordingly deferred the matter.

The company last went for share buyback in the year 2000, when shareholders approved the buyback of up to 18 m equity shares at a price of Rs 400 each.

Analysts had expected the buyback to be at a healthy premium to the current stock price.

Following the announcement, Bajaj Auto share prices took a dive and ended 5% lower on the BSE.

Last week, Bajaj Auto launched an electric vehicle production line at its plant in Akurdi in Maharashtra.

In November 2021, the firm had said it would invest Rs 3 bn in a new EV unit to scale up production of Chetak and future EV products to 0.5 m a year.

Speaking of EVs, have a look at the chart below which shows the massive opportunity for the two-wheeler EVs.

Moving on to news from the energy space, French multi-energy major TotalEnergies has acquired a 25% stake in the new clean energy services company Adani New Industries.

Adani group's latest venture, Adani New Industries, will be created by Adani Enterprises in partnership with TotalEnergies which will invest at least US$ 12.5bn in the new company.

In a statement the company said, Adani New Industries aims to invest over US$ 50 bn over the next 10 years in green hydrogen and associated ecosystem.

A large part of this investment is expected to happen in Gujarat's Kutch region, said a senior official close to the development.

In the initial phase, the company will develop a green hydrogen production capacity of 1 m tonnes every year before 2030.

The valuation of the deal and other financial details have not been disclosed yet.

TotalEnergies already has a 37.4% stake in Adani Total Gas.

The deal marks the largest ever investment by any foreign entity in an Indian energy firm.

In an otherwise weak market, Adani Enterprises' share price ended 5.7% higher on the BSE today.