Stock market slide continues; FMCG selling pressure is heavy

The Indian stock market extended its slide for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday. However, the pace of selling slowed notably as heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank provided support, preventing a further significant decline.

Some renewed interest was observed in banking and auto stocks during today’s session, driving frontline indices to gain 0.50% in the first half of trading. However, heavy selling pressure from the FMCG pack put a strain on the indices, leading them to close flat.

Consequently, the Nifty 50 closed the session with a decline of 0.11%, settling at 23,532 points, and ended the week down by 2.55%. The Sensex closed 110 points, or 0.14%, lower at 77,580, marking a weekly decline of 2.40%.

Rebound in broader market

In contrast, the broader market saw a rebound in today’s session, breaking a five-day losing streak. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended the session with a gain of 0.45%, closing at 54,043 points, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose by 0.81%, finishing at 17,601 points. Nevertheless, both indices have fallen by as much as 4.6% for the week.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Media ended the session with a gain of 2.26%, followed by Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Bank, all closing with gains of up to 1%. On the flip side, Nifty FMCG extended its slide for the fourth consecutive session, losing another 1.53%.

Rising inflation continues to weigh on investor sentiment, with concerns that it could lead to reduced consumer spending, potentially impacting sales in the sector.

Nifty PSE extended its slide for the third consecutive session, losing another 0.92% and touching a 5-month low. This was followed by Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty Energy, which ended the session with losses of 0.7%, 0.26%, and 0.18%, respectively.

30 Nifty stocks in the red; FMCG biggest loser

A total of 30 Nifty stocks ended today's session in the red, with the FMCG sector emerging as the biggest loser. Shares of HUL, Tata Consumer Products, Britannia Industries, and Nestle India dropped between 2.4% and 3.1%. This was followed by BPCL, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, and seven other stocks, which closed with declines of over 1%.

On the winning side, Eicher Motors saw a rise of 6.4% after the company reported strong earnings for the September quarter, surpassing street estimates. Hero MotoCorp also ended the session with an uptick of 1.9%.

Other stocks, including HDFC Life Insurance, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI Life Insurance, wrapped up the session with returns of up to 1%.

Commenting on today's market performance, Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services said, "Today the domestic market experienced a lacklustre trading, but some stability was observed throughout from the low of the day. The sustainability of this trend remains uncertain as FIIs continue to be on the selling side. But on a positive note, the degree of selling is reducing."

"Asian markets too displayed mixed sentiments as investors evaluate potential risk due to a likely change in US policy with trade barriers. However, it looks like the muted performance of domestic Q2 earnings has been mostly factored in with the consolidation of the last 1-2 months. The market will look forward to improvements in domestic business and economic data in anticipation of a rebound in government spending, which was reduced during the year due to national and state elections," he added. 

(By arrangement with livemint.com)