Benchmarks sharply pare losses; FMCG shares fall for 4th day

The domestic equity barometers sharply pared most losses as they marched towards the flat line in early afternoon trade. The Nifty managed to reclaim the 18,350 mark after hitting day's low of 18,270.95 in mid-morning trade. FMCG shares witnessed selling pressure for fourth consecutive session.

At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 136.62 points or 0.22% to 61,662.41. The Nifty 50 index lost 51.05 points or 0.28% to 18,363.85.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.08% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.47%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,426 shares rose and 1,976 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment took a hit after disappointing U.S. retail sales for November suggested inflation is taking a toll on consumers and raising fears that the Fed's rate hikes could push the world's largest economy into a recession.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.72% to 13.11. The Nifty 29 December 2022 futures were trading at 18,430.80, at a premium of 66.95 points as compared with the spot at 18,363.85.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 December 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 37.9 lakh contracts at the 19,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 41 lakh contracts were seen at 18,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index declined 0.77% to 45,199.30. The index has lost 2.20% in four sessions.

United Spirits (down 2.55%), Varun Beverages (down 2.33%), ITC (down 2.04%), Radico Khaitan (down 1.26%) and Emami (down 0.97%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Marico (down 0.82%), United Breweries (down 0.51%), Dabur India (down 0.37%), Tata Consumer Products (down 0.31%) and Britannia Industries (down 0.31%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Patel Engineering advanced 2.37%. The company announced that its board has approved raising funds up to Rs 350 crore through rights issue of equity shares.

Nava jumped 12.96% after the Arbitral Tribunal issued a "Consent Award" to the company's subsidiary, Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL), settling all the claims against Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO).

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