Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex open higher, FMCG shares gain in early trade

Stock market today: BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty 50 opened in green with Sensex trading 49 points or 0.06 per cent higher while the Nifty 50 opened above 22,489 with a 0.12 per cent gain. 

As of 09:17 am on May 7, Sensex was trading at 73,952.42, up by 0.7 per cent and Nifty was trading at Rs 22,466.75 with a rise of 24.05 points. 

The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) shares were showing strong momentum with Marico leading the pack with over 8.5 per cent gains at the market opening, trading at Rs 576 apiece on BSE. Marico reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 320 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24, up 4.9 per cent from the year-ago period. The Nifty FMCG index is trading 2.14 per cent higher at 55,828.60. 

Godrej Consumer Products reported an increase in fourth-quarter adjusted profit driven by higher demand for its home and personal care products and is trading 7.02 per cent or 87.85 points higher at Rs 1,338 apiece at 9:27 at BSE.

Dabur (gained 4.6 per cent), Colgate (gained 3.14 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (gained 2.88 per cent), Britannia (gained 2.32 per cent), and Nestle India (2.20 per cent) were other key FMCG shares that have shown strong momentum in the early trade. 

Reliance shares have opened relatively flat with a 7-point dip after the company reportedly resubmitted a request for a US licence to import Venezuelan oil, according to sources familiar with the matter. The shares of the oil refiner were trading 0.24 per cent or 6.75 points higher at Rs Rs 2,832.25 apiece at 9:17 at BSE. 

On the other hand, the shares of Lupin Ltd. are 3.62 per cent lower at Rs 1,619 apiece after the company reported a 52 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 359.43 crore for the January-March quarter of FY24.

Asian markets in the earlier trade were primarily optimistic with only Chinese indices trading in red. Japan's Nikkei share average jumped more than 1 per cent on Tuesday, as investor sentiment brightened on higher bets of US interest rate cuts this year while technology shares continued to dazzle. 

Sharing the outlook for the market today, Rahul Ghose Founder & CEO, Hedged.in said, “Nifty opened positive 47pts, bias taking global cues, Nifty spot buy zone around 22250 to 22350, the upside potential at 22650 to 22760, which is also the sell zone. BankNifty opened positive 69pts, BankNifty spot buy zone around 48435 – 48700, the upside potential at 49350 – 49580, which is also the sell zone.  Both Nifty & BankNifty are likely to remain within the trading range, however volatility within the range shall be very high.” 

In other news, Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), disclosed during an analyst call that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has declined the exchange's proposal to extend trading hours due to a lack of consensus among the stockbroker community in the country.