Barometers off day's high; FMCG shares in demand

The equity benchmarks came off the day's high but traded with substantial gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty slipped below the 25,650 mark. FMCG stocks rallied for the second consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 702.80 points or 0.84% to 83,884.70. The Nifty 50 index added 234.35 points or 0.92% to 25,643.45.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 84,515.10 and 25,806.95, respectively in afternoon trade. Further, the Nifty Bank also hit a life high of 53,711.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.61% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.92%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,309 shares rose and 1,570 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index added 1.19% to 65,752.20. The index advanced 1.75% in the two consecutive trading sessions.

United Spirits (up 2.49%), Nestle India (up 2.07%), Britannia Industries (up 1.7%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.68%), Marico (up 1.38%), Balrampur Chini Mills (up 1.38%), ITC (up 1.36%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.03%), Radico Khaitan (up 0.56%) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.54%) edged higher.

On the other hand, United Breweries (down 2.73%), Varun Beverages (down 1.21%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.36%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.70% to 6.873 as compared with previous close 6.869.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5475, compared with its close of 83.6575 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 October 2024 settlement added 0.64% to Rs 73,914.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.14% to 100.75.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.14% to 3.704.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement lost 40 cents or 0.53% to $74.48 a barrel.

Stocks in spotlight:

AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) fell 2.54%. The bank announced its partnership with Niva Bupa health insurance Company to offer health insurance products to the company's customers.

IDFC First Bank shed 0.66%. The bank has announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted approval for the re-appointment of V. Vaidyanathan as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of the bank.