FMCG stocks in limelight; ITC surges over 5%

FMCG stocks were in the limelight on Tuesday, with ITC surging over 5 per cent, following budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors, rural development as also a big push for employment, skilling and other opportunities.

Shares of ITC jumped 5.52 per cent, Heritage Foods soared 5 per cent, Avanti Feeds (4.60 per cent), Tata Consumer Products (4.49 per cent), Vadilal Industries (4.09 per cent) on the BSE.
Besides, LT Foods rose 3.73 per cent, Tasty Bite (3.29 per cent), Godrej Consumer Products (3.25 per cent), Dabur (2.75 per cent), Kaveri Seed Company (2.21 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (1.17 per cent).

The BSE FMCG index jumped 2.48 per cent.

FMCG stocks were the star in a bearish broader market where the BSE Sensex ended 73.04 points lower at 80,429.04.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a Rs 1.52 lakh crore allocation for agriculture and allied sectors in 2024-25, outlining a comprehensive plan to boost research, promote sustainable farming, enhance oilseed and pulse production and integrate technology in the agricultural landscape.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman emphasised the need for a thorough review of the agriculture research set-up to enhance productivity and develop climate-resilient crop varieties.

"Our government will undertake a comprehensive review of the agriculture research set-up to bring the focus on raising productivity and developing climate resilient varieties," the finance minister said.

Sitharaman announced that farmers will soon have access to 109 new high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties across 32 field and horticulture crops.

The finance minister also announced that Rs 2.66 lakh crore has been allocated for rural development, including rural infrastructure.

In a big push for employment, skilling and other opportunities, the finance minister announced an outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore for several schemes targeting 4.1 crore youth.