The domestic equity benchmarks reversed gains and were trading below the flat line in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty managed to hold above the 17,450 mark. FMCG shares, led by ITC, advanced.
At 14:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 27.52 points or 0.05% to 58,622.16. The Nifty 50 index lost 3.50 points or 0.02% to 17,466.25.
The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.62%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2031 shares rose and 1203 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.
The market undercurrent was strong after media reported that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may not disrupt economies as much as feared. A report from Pfizer and BioNTech indicated that a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine neutralized omicron in laboratory tests, but that a two-dose regimen is less effective.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index rose 1.04% to 38,050.85. The index has added 3.34% in three sessions.
Godrej Consumer (up 2.83%), Britannia Industries (up 1.04%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene (up 0.77%), United Breweries (up 0.78%), United Spirits (up 0.51%), Dabur India (up 0.41%) and Tata Consumer Products (up 0.16%) advanced.
Nestle India (down 1.40%), Colgate-Palmolive India (down 1.34%), Emami (down 0.51%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.40%) and Marico (down 0.37%) declined.
ITC surged 3.65% to Rs 233.15 after the FMCG company announced that it will hold its first analyst meet on 14 December 2021.
"We write to advise, pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, that the company will hold its 'Institutional Investors and Financial Analysts Day' on Tuesday, 14th December, 2021 from 10.30 am," the company informed in an exchange filing today.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on the 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.349% compared with 6.347% at close in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.545, compared with its close of 75.505 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement rose 0.01% to Rs 48,061.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.15% to 96.05.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement rose 10 cents or 0.13% to $75.72 a barrel.
Global markets:
Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday as investors continue to monitor developments around the omicron Covid variant and look ahead to key U.S. data.
Global markets have rallied in recent days as traders bet that the omicron Covid variant's economic impact won't be as severe as initially thought.
Investors will be keeping an eye on the latest weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. for a gauge of the country's economy; the data will be released on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Wednesday said the variant could change the course of the pandemic. Scientists worldwide are scrambling to determine just how contagious and lethal omicron is and how effective would existing vaccines be against the virus.
While preliminary evidence from South Africa, where the variant was first identified, may suggest that omicron is milder than the delta strain, WHO's technical lead on Covid-19 says it is "too early to conclude" that.
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