Sensex and Nifty traded in a narrow range and ended lower on December 9 as investors await two key economic data points scheduled for release later this week—US consumer price inflation (CPI) data on December 11 and India's CPI data on December 12. Consumer stocks remained in focus throughout the session, weighed down by Godrej Consumer's weak sales forecast for the December quarter.
At close, the Sensex was down 200.7 points or 0.3 percent at 81,508.5, and the Nifty was down 58.8 points or 0.2 percent at 24,619. About 2,222 shares advanced, 1,692 shares declined, and 151 shares remained unchanged.
The US Federal Open Market Committee's decision on interest rates, due on December 18, is also awaited.
"Currently, the market is consolidating, and the Nifty 50 is expected to range between 24,000 and 25,000 over the next few days until the FOMC decision is out," said Raj Deepak Singh, derivatives analyst at ICICI Securities.
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The Nifty FMCG index dropped over 2 percent, dragged down by Godrej Consumer, whose shares plunged more than 9 percent. The company anticipated mid-single-digit sales growth for Q3, citing "subdued" demand conditions over the past few months.
The Nifty Auto index shed 0.8 percent after November's retail figures revealed a year-on-year decline in passenger and commercial vehicle sales. Hyundai Motor shares dropped nearly 2 percent, Tata Motors slipped nearly 2 percent, and Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra were down 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Pharma and healthcare stocks also faced selling pressure, with the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare indices declining 0.5 percent. The exclusion of the US Biosecure Act from a key defence bill, seen as a win for Chinese biotech firms, negatively impacted Indian Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) and Contract Research Organisation (CRO) players. Shares of Neuland Laboratories, Laurus Labs, Divi's Laboratories, Piramal Pharma, and Syngene fell 2-6 percent.
Shares of Indian textile exporters, including Gokaldas Exports, Trident, and Welspun Living, surged 5-10 percent as financial and administrative challenges faced by Bangladesh's garment industry fueled expectations of manufacturing orders shifting to India.
Also Read | FMCG stocks crack amid demand slowdown concerns; Godrej Cons, HUL, Dabur, Marico fall 3-9%
In the construction sector, Larsen & Toubro rose 2 percent after a favourable tribunal ruling set aside a tax demand of Rs 702 crore ($83 million).
CEAT shares surged nearly 8 percent after the company signed a definitive agreement with the Michelin Group to acquire the Camso brand.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
On the technical front, Sameet Chavan, Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Angel One, noted that Nifty 50 is expected to find support at 24,500. "On the higher end of the spectrum, 24,800 followed by 25,000-25,100 is likely to be seen as the next potential resistances for the benchmark index," he said.
Tata Consumer, HUL, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, and Nestle were the worst-hit stocks on the Nifty 50, declining 2-4 percent, while Wipro, L&T, SBI Life, Tata Steel, and BPCL were the top gainers, advancing 1-2 percent.
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