FMCG Stocks Defy Market Rout As Investors Eye Safe Themes Amid Global Uncertainty

Top Indian consumer companies defied the sell-off that wiped out over Rs 5.5 crore in investors' wealth in Nifty 50 companies, as Dalal Street and its global peers came under pressure on Monday.

Scrips of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. ended the session higher as investors scrambled for safe assets amid global uncertainty.

Hindustan Unilever's shares ended over 1% higher, with the noodle-maker rising over 0.5% as compared to a near 3% fall in the benchmark gauges. HDFC Life Insurance Co. was the other Nifty company to end the session higher.

During the day, the Nifty 50 declined as much as 3.33% to 23,893.70, and the Sensex slumped 3.32% to 78,295.86, the lowest levels since June 4.

The stability in the consumer index comes while these companies posted mixed first-quarter results. Hindustan Unilever's first-quarter profit rose, meeting analysts' estimates, while Nestle missed estimates. The net profit of Tata Consumer fell 12.4% in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Meanwhile, the Nifty FMCG index ended the session marginally lower by 0.32%, while the Nifty Metal and Nifty Media fell by 4.5% each to drag the benchmark index lower.

The FMCG index has been trailing the Nifty 50 during the year, with a rise of 8% and 10.7%, respectively.

The India VIX, the index that gauges volatility in Indian equities, jumped 61.68% to 23.15 on Monday, touching the highest level since June 4. It ended 42.63% higher at 20.43.

The unwinding of carry trade in the Japanese Yen in the wake of its appreciation against the US dollar disrupted global markets.

The Bank of Japan, in line with market expectations, hiked its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% from 0.0–0.1% last week. Expectations of further hikes by the central bank have resulted in a sell-off of the Yen-funded carry trade.