The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. Nifty traded a tad above the 25,700 level after hitting the day's low of 25,570.30 in early trade. FMCG shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 123.77 points or 0.15% to 83,400.92. The Nifty 50 index rose 3.50 points or 0.03% to 25,702.20.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.11% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.74%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,391 shares rose and 1,680 shares fell. A total of 194 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
India’s total exports (merchandise and services combined) for January 2026 are estimated at $80.45 billion, registering a positive growth of 13.17% vis-à-vis January 2025. Total imports (merchandise and services combined) for January 2026 are estimated at $90.83 billion, registering a positive growth of 18.76% vis-à-vis January 2025. India’s total exports during April-January 2025-26 are estimated at $720.76 billion registering a positive growth of 6.15%. Total imports during April-January 2025-26 are estimated at $823.41 billion registering a growth of 6.54%.
Merchandise exports during January 2026 were $36.56 billion as compared to $36.34 billion in January 2025. Merchandise imports during January 2026 were $71.24 billion as compared to $59.77 billion in January 2025. The estimated value of services export for January 2026 is $43.90 billion as compared to $34.75 billion in January 2025. The estimated value of services imports for January 2026 is $19.60 billion as compared to $16.71 billion in January 2025.
Major drivers of merchandise exports growth in January 2026 include engineering goods, petroleum products, meat, dairy & poultry products, marine products, and iron ore. Engineering goods exports increased by 10.37% from $9.42 billion in January 2025 to $10.40 billion in January 2026, while petroleum products exports increased by 8.55% from $3.48 billion in January 2025 to $3.77 billion in January 2026.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.72% to 51,690.90. The index rose 1.55% in the two consecutive trading sessions.
United Spirits (up 1.36%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 1.24%), Tata Consumer Products (up 0.93%), Emami (up 0.77%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.75%), Varun Beverages (up 0.68%), Patanjali Foods (up 0.64%), Dabur India (up 0.49%) and Radico Khaitan (up 0.42%) rose.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.40% to 6.641 compared with the previous session close of 6.668.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.7150 compared with its close of 90.7400 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement fell 1.28% to Rs 152,780.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 97.13.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.81% to 4.019.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 32 cents or 0.47% to $68.07 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Delhivery jumped 3.05% after the company announced a strategic partnership with electric mobility startup RIDEV (ANV Web Ventures) to deploy 150 high-performance electric vehicles (EVs) across India over the next three months.
Refex Industries rose 0.24%. The company said that it has secured an order worth Rs 49.22 crore from a Mini Ratna public sector undertaking (PSU).