Stock Market Today: Indian benchmarks, the Sensex and Nifty, opened flat Monday, as FMCG stocks were hit by a 9 per cent plunge in Godrej Consumer shares following the company's weak quarterly sales forecast.
At 10 am, the Sensex dropped by 161.91 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 81,547.21, while the Nifty declined by 57.45 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 24,620.35. A total of 2,123 shares advanced, 1,171 shares declined, and 152 shares remained unchanged.
L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharma were among the biggest gainers on the BSE Sensex. On the other hand, the biggest losers include HUL, Nestle, Asian Paint, Axis Bank, and Induslnd Bank.
Both the Sensex and Nifty posted gains of over 2 per cent last week, marking their strongest performance since early June, following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to reduce the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for banks to 4 per cent from 4.5 per cent. This move is expected to boost liquidity, support credit growth, and aid economic recovery. At the same time, the repo rate was left unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the eleventh consecutive time.
The focus now shifts to the US consumer price inflation (CPI) data, set to be released on December 11, which will impact the future rate outlook and foreign inflows into emerging markets like India. Additionally, India's CPI data, scheduled for release on December 12, will play a key role in determining the timing of the RBI's next rate cut.
The Nifty FMCG index fell 1.8 per cent, weighed down by a more than 9 per cent drop in Godrej Consumer Products, following the company's weak growth outlook for the October-December quarter. The company expects mid-single-digit sales growth for Q3 and highlighted that economic demand conditions have been "subdued" in recent months.
Key FMCG stocks on the Nifty 50, including Britannia, Tata Consumer, and HUL, were the biggest decliners, each falling 2-3 per cent.
On the other hand, financial and construction stocks saw gains, with HDFC Bank, SBI Life, and L&T emerging as some of the top performers on the Nifty 50.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising by 0.4 per cent.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, anticipates the Nifty 50 will continue its gradual upward trend this week. This trend is supported by increased liquidity following the RBI's CRR cut, favourable news surrounding government policies, and a resurgence of FII inflows.