Sensex, Nifty end flat after rangebound session, consumption stocks down 1.6%

The domestic benchmark equity indices ended little changed on Wednesday, as a rangebound session saw the Sensex decline 313 points to 78,271, while the Nifty fell 43 points to 23,696.

Midcap stocks continued their strong run, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index gaining 367 points to 54,181, outpacing the broader market.

Financials and energy stocks provided support, with the Nifty Bank rising 185 points to 50,343, while oil & gas names saw buying interest. ONGC and Hindalco were among the top Nifty gainers. However, consumption stocks dragged the indices lower, following a mixed set of earnings from Asian Paints and Titan, with Asian Paints, Nestlé, Titan, HUL, and Britannia leading the Nifty laggards. The Nifty FMCG index ended 1.6% lower.

Ahead of its Q3 results, Hero MotoCorp ended with minor gains, while ITC and SBI declined.

A healthy monthly update from Angel One lifted capital market stocks, with Nippon Life, CAMS, BSE, CDSL, MCX, and HDFC AMC emerging as the top midcap gainers.

Among individual movers, pharma company Abbott India surged 6% after reporting a steady financial performance for the third quarter of FY25, with net profit rising 16% year-on-year to ₹360.8 crore, compared to ₹311 crore in the same period last year.

Natural gas distributer Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) gained over 5%, buoyed by expectations of a price hike.

Meanwhile, Jockey India licensee Page Industries fell 6% from its day’s high, as the company maintained a cautious outlook.

Mumbai-based real estate developer Godrej Properties dropped 4%, despite management’s confidence in achieving its bookings guidance of ₹27,000 core in FY25.

Market breadth favoured advances, with the advance-decline ratio at 5:2. In the foreign exchange space, the Indian rupee weakened further against the U.S. dollar, hitting a record low of 87.49 per dollar, reflecting broader currency pressures.