Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. However, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, ITC and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
The "asset-right" strategy, reiterated by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri during the company's 112th annual general meeting (AGM) on August 11, received a thumbs up from the analysts. They, however, believe that sustained earnings growth and synergies with the demerged hotel's vertical will help the stock break out from the ongoing consolidation. "The stock is expected to consolidate between Rs 420 and Rs 450 in the near future.
The FMCG sector is generally considered to be a safe haven during difficult times as people never stop buying soap and toothpaste. However, weak rural and semi-urban demand has been a factor since the lockdowns of 2020-21 while rising inflation has also impacted margins. While the FMCG majors have survived on the basis of price hikes and good management practices, they have seen growth slowdowns and experienced margins being squeezed as raw materials and transport costs rose. The FMCG sector witnessed positive volume growth in the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) after five consecutive quarters of decline, and the rebound in demand was led by urban markets.
Some analysts see more upside in FMCG stocks given the performance gap between the sector and the market.
ITC has been one of the best performing large-cap stock at the bourses thus far in calendar year 2022 (CY22), rallying nearly 52 per cent during this period and outperforming the sector benchmark - the S&P BSE FMCG index - by a wide margin that moved up around 17 per cent during this period. However, the counter has lost over 5 per cent from its recent high of Rs 346.25 hit on September 23, 2022 and has underperformed the S&P BSE Sensex, which has lost nearly 2 per cent since then. So, is the rally in the stock coming to an end, and is this a good time to book profit?
Analysts expect Colgate's overall volume growth to remain in single digits (around 5-6 per cent) for the next two years.
The feeling was that the higher levy would prompt the company to increase prices in the process hurting volumes. But the unchanged central excise duty, analysts say, outweighs the VAT increases in Maharashtra and Delhi. As a result, estimates for the current year have been upped with expectations that the company could grow its top line by as much as 13-14 per cent driven by a 6-7 per cent rise in volumes.
At first glance, the numbers show a mixed trend.
The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 66 points at 14,055.
Fresh buying towards the end saw the index cut losses and eventually settle at 15,699 - down 96 points.The NSE Nifty ended 32 points down at 4589.
The Sensex opened with a positive gap 54 points at 13,704.
The markets opened today on weak note in line with its Asian peers
The markets have opened strong in morning session as FMCG, telecom, oil, banking, power, metal and some technology stocks
The markets have opened in the red as global peers were down and heavy profit booking was seen in technology, metal, power, auto, cement and telecommunication stocks.
The Sensex, which dropped to a low of 12,941, is now up 10 points at 12,972
The Sensex finally closed with a huge loss of 271 points (1.3%) at 20,104. The Nifty lost 101 points to close at 6,058.
The markets opened in green tracking its Asian peers
The Sensex opened with a small positive gap of six points at 7,931, and moved up to a high of 7,976 in early deals.\n
ITC was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 3.14 per cent. Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Vedanta, Asian Paints, M&M, HUL, Bajaj Auto and PowerGrid were among the other top gainers, rising up to 2.13 per cent.
Markets end in the red, midcaps in focus
A widening probe by US authorities involving top drug companies following complaints of price fixing of generics was a point of worry for the participants, said analysts.
The Nifty finished the day at 10,265.65, a hefty gain of 98.95 points, or 0.97 per cent, after shuttling between 10,270.85 and 10,195.25.
IT, pharma and FMCG stocks are the top performers in 2013.
Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.76 per cent, followed by SBI at 3.18 per cent.
FMCG major ITC and private banking major ICICI Bank were the top Sensex losers
While FMCG companies lose Rs 98,928 crore in m-cap, consumer durables stocks are down Rs 20,673 crore since November 8.
"The shift is gradually happening more on account of favourable risk-reward for stocks in these sectors and the shift would be more pronounced as investors roll over their targets to 2017," the head of research at a foreign brokerage said.
ITC, Sun Pharma, HDFC and Coal India were among the top gainers.
BSE Auto index fell over 0.5% after reports that automobiles might get costlier post GST
The winter session of Parliament will commence on November 26.
The Nifty has gained 2.6% so far this week, while the Sensex has climbed 2.85%
Sensex, Nifty end the day in red ahaead of F&O expiry.
The market sentiment was also impacted by mixed global cues as setbacks for a healthcare overhaul in the US raised doubts over prospects for a range of reforms backed by President Donald Trump.
The turmoil on the Street and a continued fall of the rupee may affect growth stocks, pushing equity investors back to the relative safety of defensive counters, or forcing them to flee markets, or both.
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended up 112 points at 28,555 and the 50-share Nifty closed 24 points higher at 8,561 after hitting a record high of 8,626.95.
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