Indices trade near flat line; FMCG shares decline

The domestic equity benchmarks traded near the flat line with some positive bias in morning trade. The Nifty traded near the 21,950 mark. FMCG shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 10:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 20.82 points or 0.03% to 72,172.82. The Nifty 50 index rose 18.55 points or 0.08% to 21,949.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.30%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,959 shares rose and 1,612 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Result Today

Grasim Industries (down 0.21%), Life Insurance Corporation of India (up 3.05%), Power Finance Corporation (down 0.10%), Zomato (up 2.06%), Biocon (up 0.67%), Aarti Industries (0.15%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (0.24%), Aster DM Healthcare (1.06%), Astrazeneca Pharma India (up 0.84%), Balrampur Chini Mills (down 1.23%), BEML (down 1.72%), Concord Biotech (up 0.87%), ESAF Small Finance Bank (up 0.75%), Escorts Kubota (down 0.26%), Hikal (up 1.46%), Honeywell Automation (down 0.80%), India Shelter Finance Corporation (0.86%), ITD Cementation (down 2.21%), JK Lakshmi Cement (down 0.22%), NCC (up 2.84%), Page Industries (up 0.13%), Patanjali Foods (up 2.61%), Rail Vikas Nigam (up 0.80%), SKF India (down 0.91%), Thermax (up 0.05%), Torrent Power (up 2.17%), and Zydus Wellness (down 0.93%) will announced their quarterly earnings later today.

RBI MPC Outcome:

The Reserve Bank of India�s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday decided to keep its key policy rates unchanged.

In its last bi-monthly monetary policy of FY24, the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-headed six-member MPC maintained the repo rate at 6.5% for the fifth consecutive time.

Global economy presenting a mixed picture, odds of a soft landing has increased globally. Emergence of new flash points impart uncertainty to global macro landscape, the RBI Governor said.

MPC will carefully monitor generalisation of food price pressures which can fritter away the gains in easing of core inflation. Monetary policy must continue to be actively disinflationary to align inflation to 4 percent target on a durable basis. MPC will remain resolute in this commitment. Amidst current headwinds, elevated level of public debt is raising issues of macroeconomic stability in countries, including advanced ones, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG shed 0.99% to 54,228.60. The index rose 0.30% in the past trading session.

Nestle India (down 1.83%), Britannia Industries (down 1.7%), Tata Consumer Products (down 1.65%), ITC (down 1.55%), Radico Khaitan (down 0.79%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.69%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.64%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.57%), United Breweries (down 0.32%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.27%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin advanced 1.68% after the company`s consolidated net profit jumped 292.6% to Rs 618.7 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 157.6 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 20.2% YoY to Rs 5197.4 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023 from Rs 4322.2 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) gained 3.57% while Petronet LNG rose 0.04%. A joint venture of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), a LNG terminal-owning company, has concluded and executed a Long-term LNG Sale & Purchase Agreement (LNG SPA) with Qatar Energy for the purchase of approximately 7.5 MMTPA Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) on a long-term basis. The new agreement entails deliveries commencing from May 2028 for a duration of 20 years with supplies on a delivered basis.

Indraprastha Gas (IGL) rose 0.63%. The company said that it has has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) (MOU) with two technology partners to establish compressed biogas (CBG) plants across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

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