Sensex slumps 157 pts; FMCG shares decline

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early afternoon trade as investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy decision. The divergence between the Sensex and the Nifty reflected differences in their constituent weightings and the impact of the new Closing Auction Session (CAS) mechanism. FMCG stocks witnessed profit booking after advancing in the previous session. The Nifty slipped below the 24,550 mark.

At 12:28 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 156.70 points or 0.20% to 78,480.26. The Nifty 50 index fell 254.10 points or 1.03% to 24,520.20.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.05% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.38%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,051 shares rose and 1,911 shares fell. A total of 237 shares were unchanged.

RBI MPC meeting:

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting entered its second day on Tuesday, 4 August 2026. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is scheduled to announce the policy decision on Wednesday, 5 August 2026. Market participants will closely monitor the central bank's commentary on inflation, economic growth and the outlook for interest rates.

Derivatives :

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.74% to 12.25. The Nifty 25 August 2026 futures were trading at 24,555.40 at a premium of 35.2 points as compared with the spot at 24,520.20.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 August 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 58.5 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 82 lakh contracts was seen at a 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index fell 1.10% to 49,416.95. The index added 1.71% in the previous trading session.

Dabur India (down 3.17%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 2.23%), Hindustan Unilever (down 2.01%), Tata Consumer Products (down 1.59%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 1.44%), Britannia Industries (down 1.16%), Emami (down 1.05%), United Breweries (down 0.89%), Marico (down 0.64%) and Patanjali Foods (down 0.55%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Best Agrolife zoomed 13.43% after the company?s consolidated net profit surged 104.07% to Rs 40.65 crore on 3.92% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 396.2 crore in Q1 FY27 over Q1 FY26.

Rajesh Power Services rose 2.15% after the company secured a Rs 362.82 crore order from Paschim Gujarat Vij Company (PGVCL).

Texmaco Rail & Engineering declined 3.41%. The company reported a 70.57% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 50.03 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 29.33 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations, however, declined 16.90% YoY to Rs 756.68 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

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