Sensex up 200 pts, Nifty nears 24,600 as auto, metals gain; FMCG stocks drag

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Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex held on to strong gains through mid-day on August 13, powered by advances in auto, metal, and pharma stocks. Mid- and small-cap shares outshone the benchmarks, while FMCG was the lone drag as heavyweights ITC and HUL slipped into the red.At about 11:30 am, the Sensex was up 178.63 points or 0.22 percent at 80,414.22, and the Nifty was up 87.25 points or 0.36 percent at 24,574.65. About 1960 shares advanced, 1435 shares declined, and 146 shares were unchanged.Follow our LIVE blog for all the latest market updatesThe possibility of a sudden shift in sentiment could trigger short covering and spark a sharp market rebound, though the outcome of the Trump-Putin talks — which may serve as a positive catalyst — remains uncertain, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd said. Meanwhile, Trump’s steep tariffs and worsening US-India relations have dampened sentiment, leading to a build-up of short positions. Tepid earnings growth, stretched valuations, and modest FY26 profit growth projections of 8–10 percent have further emboldened bears to add to their bets, he added.Sectoral indices were largely in the green, with Nifty Metal leading the pack, up 1.86 percent, followed by Auto at 1.18 percent and Pharma at 0.94 percent. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 gained 0.68 percent and 0.50 percent, respectively. Infra, Realty, Media, Consumer Durables, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Oil & Gas, Energy, Bank Nifty, and IT also posted modest gains. On the downside, FMCG slipped 0.19 percent and IT edged down 0.11 percent. India VIX eased 0.33 percent, indicating lower volatility expectations.Also read: Vodafone Idea in talks with private credit funds as bank funding remains elusiveAs for individual stocks, Premier Explosives surged over 15 percent after the defence and space products maker delivered a sharp jump in its June-quarter earnings and expanded its order pipeline. Net profit for the quarter soared 110 percent year-on-year to Rs 15 crore, compared with Rs 7 crore a year earlier, aided by strong revenue growth. Revenue rose nearly 72 percent to Rs 142 crore from Rs 83 crore.Defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) gained 2.5 percent in trade on Wednesday, August 13, after HAL posted its earnings results for the June quarter. Hindustan Aeronautics reported a 3.7 percent year-on-year drop in consolida...

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