The domestic equity benchmarks traded sideways in the mid- afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,600 level. FMCG shares advanced after declining for previous trading session.
At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 78.21 points or 0.09% to 83,392.14. The Nifty 50 index fell 32.35 points or 0.12% to 25,610.40.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.57% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index tanked 0.63%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,680 shares rose and 2,395 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged.
RBI MPC:
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its first monetary policy review of the calendar year 2026. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra kept the key policy rate—repo rate—unchanged at 5.25%. Headline inflation during November and December remained below the tolerance band of the inflation target. The revised outlook for CPI inflation in Q1 and Q2 of next year, at 4% and 4.2%, respectively, is revised slightly upwards, said RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra. The Indian economy continues on a steady, improving trajectory, with real GDP poised to register significant higher growth of 7.4% this year, as compared to the previous year, amidst global headwinds, the governor noted. Going forward, economic activity is expected to hold up well in the next year, he added.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index added 1.78% to 51,637.20. The index declined 0.38% in the previous trading session.
ITC (up 4.42%), United Breweries (up 3.57%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.89%), Patanjali Foods (up 1.34%) and United Spirits (up 0.84%), Emami (up 0.57%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.46%), Britannia Industries (up 0.45%), Marico (up 0.44%) and Dabur India (up 0.35%) added.
On the other hand, Radico Khaitan (down 1.96%), Nestle India (down 0.68%) and Varun Beverages (down 0.06%) turned lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper added 1.11% to 6.725 compared with previous session close of 6.651.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.7625 compared with its close of 90.3400 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.48% to Rs 152,800.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.12% to 97.85.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.55% to 4.185.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 80 cents or 1.18% to $68.35 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
CESC declined 1.04% after the company’s consolidated net profit fell 32.14% to Rs 304 crore on a 23.96% drop in revenue from operations to Rs 4,005 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q2 FY26.
Jubilant Pharmova declined 2.28% after the company reported 45% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 55.8 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 100.7 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue rose by 17% YoY to Rs 2,123 crore during the quarter.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals fell 1.55%. The company announced that it has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Carbidopa, Levodopa, and Entacapone tablets.