FMCG, healthcare stocks defy markets with spirited fight back, gain up to 4%

The sectors which defied the trends were and healthcare, with , and gaining 0.23%, 0.40% and 0.60%, respectively around 10:40 am.

The Nifty FMCG was trading at 54,606.85, down by 46.75 points or 0.09% with 11 stocks trading in the green around this time while the rest 4 were in the red. The top gainers were , and Marico which were up by up to 4% while the losers in the pack were Balrampur Chini, Radico Khaitan, Varun Beverages and which fell between 4% and 0.76%.

Meanwhile, Nifty Healthcare was marginally up with over 6 points lead and traded at 11,854.15. There were 8 advances and 12 declines in a 20-stock index. The gainers were Max Healthcare, Divi's Laboratories and Abbott India. They were up by 2%, 1% and 0.84%, respectively. The laggards were Glenmark Pharma, Granules India, Biocon and Alkem Laboratories which declined by up to 4.21%.

Nifty Pharma which fought against the trends in early trade also fell by 0.40% or 75 points to 18,789.40.

While attributing today's steep fall to the trends so far, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Strategist, , said that if BJP doesn’t get a majority on its own, there will be disappointment and this is getting reflected in the market.

However he sees positive trade in the FMCG stock for a different reason. "It is possible that Modi 3.0 may not be as as the market expected and may turn more welfare- oriented. This is reflected in the strength in ," Vijayakumar said.

N Jayakumar, Managing Director at , sees big opportunities in the pharma sector. "The biggest reason being the sectoral weight that pharma enjoys is still to my mind under 6%. Number two, most of the stocks there represent under-ownership, reasonably high promoter ownership, and participation still is low," he reasoned.

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