BENGALURU, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Indian stock indexes eased off record highs at mid-morning on Monday but remained elevated as consumer goods and information technology stocks boosted the benchmarks.
The Nifty 50 index was up 0.27% to 25,304.1 points, while the BSE Sensex was trading 0.32% higher at 82,624.67.
Shares of consumer goods makers like ITC and Hindustan Unilever gained 2% and 1% respectively and lifted the Nifty FMCG index up 1% after the Indian weather department said the country saw above-average rainfall in August and forecast September rainfall to be 109% of the 50-year average.
June-September rainfall accounts for almost 70% of the rain India needs to water farms and replenish reservoirs and aquifers.
Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index gained 0.5% as traders braced for a data-packed week culminating in the U.S. jobs report, which could decide the quantum of a potential September rate cut.
Markets are pricing in a 69% chance the Fed is likely to cut rates by 25 basis points in September, higher than a 64% probability a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Tech stocks globally seem to be rising as investors are convinced that the U.S. Federal Reserve may start a rate cutting cycle at its September meet, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
The broader, more domestically focussed mid-caps index hit record high earlier in the session but trimmed gains to trade 0.3% lower, while the small-caps was trading flat.
Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Source: Reuters