The equity benchmarks pared all gains and traded with modest losses in the morning trade. The Nifty slipped below 22,400 level. FMCG shares witnessed buying demand for the second consecutive trading session.

At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 322.07 points or 0.42% to 73,583.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 72.10 points or 0.32% to 22,370.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.53% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.55%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,339 shares rose and 2,103 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

On 7 May 2024, the Lok Sabha elections will enter their third phase with voting in 96 parliamentary constituencies across 12 states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The BJP is seeking a third consecutive term, facing opposition from a coalition named the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which includes the Congress party. This round is part of a seven-phase election process running from April 19 to June 1, with the final election results scheduled to be revealed on June 4.

Results Today :

Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.21%), PB Fintech (down 1.93%), JSW Energy (down 1.62%), Voltas (up 0.73%), Century Textiles & Industries (down 1.19%), Delta Corp (up 0.53%), Graphite India (up 0.46%), Indraprastha Gas (up 1.37%), IRB Infrastructure Developers (down 0.22%), Jindal Saw (down 2.06%), Jupiter Wagons (up 2.97%), Kajaria Ceramics (up 0.15%), KEC International (down 1.24%), Max Financial Services (down 1.12%), Navin Fluorine International (down 2.53%), Pidilite Industries (down 0.01%), Sonata Software (down 2.46%), United Breweries (up 1.21%) and Bigbloc Construction (up 5.39%) will announce their quarterly earnings later in the day.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index gained 2.64% to 56,104.50. The index rallied 3.37% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Marico (up 8.37%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 6.33%), Dabur India (up 4.65%), Hindustan Unilever (up 3.56%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 3.21%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (up 2.54%), Britannia Industries (up 2.2%), ITC (up 2.09%), Nestle India (up 1.87%) and Tata Consumer Products (up 1.4%) advanced.

On the other hand, Varun Beverages (down 1.29%), Radico Khaitan (down 0.63%) and Balrampur Chini Mills (down 0.27%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

VA TECH WABAG rose 0.74%. The company’s consortium secured a repeat order from Office National De L’assainissement (ONAS), worth 114.22 million Tunisian Dinars (approximately Euro 34 million).

Bajaj Healthcare shed 0.63%. The company said that its board has approved the appointment of Dayashankar Patel as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, with effect from 6 May, 2024.