The key equity barometers traded with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade, as selective profit booking and continued FII selling kept investors cautious ahead of key Q3 earnings announcements and cues from the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Nifty traded above the 25,200 level. FMCG shares advanced after declining in the previous two trading sessions.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 329.93 points or 0.40% to 82,257.41. The Nifty 50 index rose 78.20 points or 0.31% to 25,236.05.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.98%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,866 shares rose and 1,272 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.63% to 13.69.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.76% to 51,793. The index dropped 1.33% in the past two trading sessions.
Emami (up 3.29%), Radico Khaitan (up 3.12%), Britannia Industries (up 2.84%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 2.68%), Dabur India (up 1.88%), Varun Beverages (up 1.67%), Nestle India (up 1.54%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 1.53%), Patanjali Foods (up 1.17%) and United Spirits (up 1.17%) gained.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was down 0.27% to 6.637 as compared with the previous close of 6.655.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.6275 compared with its close of 91.6500 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement shed 0.78% to Rs 1,51,675.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 98.81.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.28% to 4.239.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 20 cents or 0.31% to $65.04 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
TANFAC Industries slipped 3.557% after the company reported a 55.3% drop in net profit to Rs 15.57 crore on a 2.7% fall in net sales to Rs 173.30 crore in Q3 FY26 as compared with Q3 FY25.