By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks settled marginally lower on Wednesday, weighed by a drop in consumer stocks, while gains in energy stocks capped the declines.
The Nifty 50 shed 0.18% to 23,696.30, while the BSE Sensex traded 0.4% lower at 78,271.28.
“The sentiment in Indian markets is currently neutral as investors grapple with the contrasting factors of the consumption boost provided in the union budget and the global trade uncertainty ahead of the RBI policy decision,” said Pramod Gubbi, co-founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to deliver a 25 basis points rate cut on Friday, supporting a growth revival following the announcement of personal tax cuts in the annual budget.
Consumer stocks shed 1.6%, taking their three-session losses to about 3.4% and erasing the gains made on Feb. 1.
Worries over urban demand recovery and high valuations have triggered the drop in consumer stocks, three analysts said.
In contrast to the benchmark indexes, the broader markets extended gains to a second consecutive session. The smallcaps and midcaps jumped 1.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Energy and state-owned firms gained about 1.5% each. ONGC led sectoral gains with a 3% jump following its improved production outlook for fiscal year 2025-28, while Macquarie upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “neutral.”
Oil marketing companies BPCL and HPCL rose 2.1% and 2.8% after Goldman Sachs upgraded them to “buy” from “neutral”, citing improving earnings outlook.
Asian Paints lost 3.4% after the paint maker missed third-quarter profit estimates.
State-run telecom company MTNL jumped 18% after a key government official said the government will assist MTNL and BSNL in monetising their assets.
($1 = 87.1530 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Sonia Cheema and Varun H K)
