Indian benchmarks end seven-day rally on FMCG woes; Pakistan markets tumble amid tensions

Indian equity markets’ seven‑day winning run came to an end on Wednesday, 24 April, as profit‑taking and underwhelming FMCG earnings weighed on investor sentiment.

By mid‑afternoon, the had slipped 380 points (0.47 per cent) to 79,736, while the NSE Nifty 50 dropped 105 points (0.43 per cent), trading around 24,224. Market breadth was almost evenly split, with approximately 1,670 gainers against 1,750 decliners.

The FMCG segment bore the brunt of the downturn, sliding close to 1 per cent following lackluster quarterly results from Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Nestlé India and Tata Consumer Products. Within the Nifty 50, 34 stocks closed lower; Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors, ONGC and Shriram Finance featured among the worst performers. The benchmark dipped below the 24,250 mark before recovering slightly in the afternoon.

Conversely, the Nifty Pharma index rallied nearly 1 per cent, buoyed by double‑digit gains in firms such as Natco Pharma, Divi’s Laboratories and Ajanta Pharma. Mid‑ and small‑caps also outperformed: the Nifty Midcap 100 was unchanged, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.5 per cent.

Volatility indicators climbed, with the India VIX rising 2 per cent to 16.30 as traders rolled over April options and futures.

“Foreign investors have flipped to net buyers in the cash market, injecting around Rs 21,000 crore since early April,” noted Devarsh Vakil of HDFC Securities. “Despite maintaining net short positions in futures, the move suggests stronger support on market dips.”

On the corporate front, Hindustan Unilever’s shares fell sharply after it forecast thinner margins, and Syngene International slipped 10 per cent following a 3 per cent year‑on‑year drop in Q4 net profit to Rs 183 crore.

Wednesday’s decline came amid stretched valuations — Nifty’s forward price‑to‑earnings ratio exceeds 20 — which may curb further gains. VK Vijayakumar, Geojit Investments’ chief strategist, warned that while earnings season could drive short‑term moves, geopolitical risks following recent terror incidents could unsettle markets in the medium term.

Meanwhile, Pakistani equities tumbled over renewed India‑Pakistan tensions. Karachi’s KSE‑100 index plunged more than 2 per cent in early trading after New Delhi approved retaliatory measures — including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Attari transit post — following in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

By mid‑day, the index had pared losses but remained down about 1.3  per cent at 115,693, marking its second straight session in the red after the IMF trimmed Pakistan’s FY25 growth forecast to 2.6  per cent. The markets are expected to further react on 26 April to Pakistan's announcement of suspending the Shimla Agreement of 1972 and snapped trade ties with India.

The downward momentum continued into Thursday, 25 April. The Sensex declined a further 315 points (0.39 per cent) to 79,801, and the Nifty slid 82 points (0.34 per cent) to 24,247, as investors booked profits following the steep rally. Hindustan Unilever shares plunged 4 per cent after reporting a 3.35 per cent drop in Q4 net profit on margin pressures. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance were also among the top decliners.

Offsetting some losses, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra posted gains. Globally, most Asian and European indices remained subdued, although US markets closed sharply higher overnight, and Brent crude traded near USD 66.10 a barrel. Analysts pointed to weak FMCG results and lingering global uncertainties as catalysts for the market’s correction.