Shares of Nestle India fell sharply on Friday, dropping over 3% amid reports that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had issued a notice over complaints about the presence of insect or larvae in a Maggi packet.
In the morning, the stock had opened higher at Rs 1,439 apiece compared to the previous close of Rs 1,421 apiece. However, it fell to as low as Rs 1,370 during the trade which is about 3.5% lower than the previous close. In afternoon trade, the stock was down 3%, trading at Rs 1,379.
According to ANI, FSSAI has taken cognisance of complaints circulating on social media and has issued notices to multiple companies. Alongside Nestle India, notices were reportedly sent to KFC for alleged hygiene issues, and to Flipkart India and Open Secret over claims of insects found in a dates product.
The regulator’s actions follow scrutiny of social media complaints, while further updates from the companies and FSSAI are awaited.
Despite the setback for Nestle, benchmark equity indices rebounded strongly on Friday. The Sensex and Nifty recovered from previous session losses, tracking reports from Iranian state-linked news agency Mehr that a proposed MoU between Tehran and Washington could lift sanctions and end the US naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz. Global market optimism and declining crude oil prices, following US President Donald Trump’s statement ending the conflict with Iran, further supported the rally.
All sixteen major sectoral indices traded in the green. The Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Oil marketing companies, including BPCL, HPCL, and Indian Oil, gained 2.4–3.8%, while airline operator IndiGo climbed 3.5%, benefiting from lower crude prices. Paint, tyre, and cement stocks also moved higher.
Infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro, with significant West Asia exposure, rose 2.8%. Heavyweight banking and financial stocks gained 1.4% each, marking their third advance in four sessions after the Reserve Bank of India outlined a concessional forex swap facility for banks’ overseas foreign-currency borrowings.
