Bulls and bears stay on sidelines as Nifty, Sensex struggle for direction, volatility cools

The FMCG pack led the gains in trade on July 9, following a favourable note from Jefferies.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Dalal Street saw yet another dull session of trade on Wednesday, July 9, as investors refused to take fresh positions in the face of global uncertainties, leaving the benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex confined to a tight range.

The Nifty 50 and Sensex have been consolidating for the past nine sessions, as investors await clarity on the mini-tariff deal between U.S. and India, along with the upcoming earnings season, for fresh directional cues. Strong mutual fund data also did not move the needle to support buying action on D-Street today.

At 12 noon, the Sensex was down 19.21 points or 0.02 percent at 83,693.30, and the Nifty was down 2.25 points or 0.01 percent at 25,520.25. About 1924 shares advanced, 1439 shares declined, and 121 shares unchanged.

Sectoral indices on the NSE traded mixed, with defensive and consumption-linked pockets gaining ground while metals and realty stocks saw selling pressure. The Nifty FMCG index led the gainers, rising 0.6 percent, supported by select consumer names. Nifty Auto also advanced 0.4 percent, while Nifty Pharma inched up 0.1 percent. Nifty Energy and Nifty Infra posted modest gains of 0.24 percent and 0.02 percent, respectively.

On the flip side, Nifty Realty was the worst performer of the day, shedding 1.04 percent, followed by Nifty Metal, which declined 0.9 percent. Nifty IT dropped 0.5 percent, while PSU Bank stocks traded 0.3 percent lower.

While the midcap index hovered close to the flatline, investors bet on smallcap counters, leading the Nifty Smallcap 100 to rise around 0.7 percent in the afternoon session.

Volatility in the markets, as indicated by the India VIX index, cooled off, sinking over three percent to slip under 12 levels, at 11.88.

FMCG stocks outperformed after international brokerage Jefferies picked consumption names Varun Beverages, HUL, and Asian Paints as its top contra bets for the next twelve months.

Over the past few quarters, these consumer firms have been plagued with faltering demand, rising competitive actions and margin pressures, weighing on their stock prices. According to Jefferies, while there has been a gradual improvement in some of these issues, several stocks have factored in the risk.

Further, shares of copper mining companies fell following U.S. President Trump's threat to impose a 50 percent tariff on imported copper soon, leading to a surge in US prices of the metal by more than 12 percent, while LME Copper, the global benchmark, fell on fears of disruption.

After a sharp 22 percent decline in May, equity mutual fund inflows showed a 24 percent rise in June, coming in at Rs 23,587 crore, according to monthly data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

Market benchmarks remained largely stable and investor sentiment appeared to reflect this optimism. Anand Vardarajan, Chief Business Officer, Tata Asset Management said, "The big news is that the industry is inching towards the AUM of Rs 75 lakh crore mark, with the June number coming in at Es 74.5 lakh crore. Equity flows continued to be strong, with net inflows of nearly Rs 23,300 crore, up nearly Rs 4,000 crore over May."