Tuesday, 3 November
Englishहिंदी
Get the 7 am briefing
India and the world,
in English and Hindi
CricketCourtsMarketsGoaSupreme CourtInflationSpace
Sensex 76,917.85 +1.62%Nifty 50 23,810.85 +1.58%₹ / $ 94.74

EconomyMarkets

Sensex jumps 1,225 points to 76,918 as FMCG shares lead fourth day of gains

The Nifty closed at 23,810.85, up 1.58%, its highest finish in nearly two months, as foreign buying returned and the rupee firmed to 94.74 against the dollar.

From the editorial desk · MumbaiPublished
The Bombay Stock Exchange building on Dalal Street, Mumbai (file photo)
The Bombay Stock Exchange building on Dalal Street, Mumbai (file photo)Photo: AroundTheGlobe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Key points

  1. The Sensex rose 1,225.07 points, or 1.62%, to close at 76,917.85.
  2. Nifty FMCG gained the most among sectors, with Nestle India up 4.47%.
  3. The rupee closed 16 paise higher at 94.74 to the dollar.

The Sensex climbed 1,225.07 points, or 1.62%, on Tuesday to close at 76,917.85, and the Nifty 50 rose 370.05 points, or 1.58%, to 23,810.85. It was the fourth day running that both indices gained, a stretch that has added about 5% and taken them to their highest close in nearly two months.

The buying was broad. On the NSE, 2,127 shares rose and 1,477 fell, and the market value of NSE-listed companies rose by ₹4.71 lakh crore to ₹483.1 lakh crore in a single session.

Consumer shares lead

Consumer goods makers did most of the lifting. The Nifty FMCG index rose 3.65%, the best of the sectors, with Nestle India up 4.47%, Tata Consumer Products up 4.29% and Asian Paints up 3.99%. Realty gained 2.33%, private banks 1.98% and autos 1.71%.

BSE Ltd was the top gainer on the Nifty 50, up 5.03%, and Bharti Airtel added 3.77%.

Government-owned names went the other way. Power Grid fell 3.04%, the biggest loss on the index, State Bank of India dropped 1.7% and ONGC lost 1.13%. The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.27%, and metals slipped 0.14%.

Smaller companies trailed the leaders. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.06% and the Smallcap 100 only 0.31%. Among stocks outside the index, Marico jumped about 10% and KRBL 10.6% after their September-quarter results, and VRL Logistics gained 6%.

Oil, Iran and foreign money

Foreign money and cheaper oil have helped drive the run. Foreign investors are buying again: they were net buyers of ₹3,115 crore on Monday, by provisional NSE data, and have bought in four of the last five sessions, while domestic institutions sold ₹392 crore.

Crude has also come off its highs. Brent fell about 7% on Monday to around $105 a barrel on hopes that talks involving Iran and Qatari mediators could end the US-Israeli war with Iran. Reports of fresh US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz kept the risk alive, and Brent recovered about 1%. For India, which imports most of its oil, every dollar off the price eases pressure on the rupee and on inflation.

The rupee shared in the mood. It closed 16 paise stronger at 94.74 against the US dollar, from 94.90 on Monday.

The India VIX, a gauge of expected swings, still rose 1.09% to 15.67, a sign that traders are not yet calm. Most Asian markets ended lower on Tuesday as investors waited for the result of the US midterm elections, where voting is under way.

What comes next

The next few sessions will turn on the American vote, any move in oil from the Gulf, and the flow of September-quarter results from Indian companies. Wednesday’s open will also have to absorb the first results from the US count, which will come in during Indian morning hours.