Sensex, Nifty Turn Volatile; FMCG Index Falls 2%

Indian benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 opened higher on Thursday.

At opening bell, the BSE Sensex was up 126 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 80,208, while the Nifty 50 was at 24,465, higher by 29.80 points, or 0.12 per cent.

On the BSE Sensex, more than half the stocks were trading in the green, with gains led by Tata Motors (up 1.14 per cent), HDFC Bank, Adani Ports & SEZ, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Sun Pharma, while loses were capped by Hindustan Unilever (down 4.18 per cent), followed by Nestle India, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India, and Bharti Airtel.

On the Nifty 50 too, 32 out of the 50 stocks were trading higher, with gains led by HDFC Bank (up 1.18 per cent), followed by Trent, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, and Tata Motors, while loses were capped by Hindalco Industries (down 5.54 per cent), followed by SBI Life, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia Industries, and Nestle India.

Across sectors, the FMCG index had pulled back by 1.55 per cent, followed by the Metal index, which was down 1 per cent. The Consumer Durables index was also trading in the red, while the rest of the sectoral indices were trading higher.

The Realty index was the top sectoral gainer, climbing 1.26 per cent, while financial indices along with Pharma and Healthcare were also trading higher.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 was higher by 0.19 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was ahead by 0.51 per cent.

Global Cues

Meanwhile, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday morning after the overnight decline in US stocks on on Wall Street.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.37 per cent after the country’s third-quarter GDP growth came in at 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter, missing Reuters’ estimates of 0.5 per cent growth, and following a 0.2 per cent decline in the second quarter.

The small-cap Kosdaq declined 1.08 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.48 per cent, while the Topix was up marginally.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.14 per cent.

On Wall Street, all the three main indices finished lower, driven by losses in consumer discretionary, technology and communication services stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.96 per cent to 42,514.95, the S&P 500 fell 0.92 per cent to 5,797.42 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.60 per cent to 18,276.65.