Sugar stocks, represented by companies like Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Balrampur Chini Mills, Triveni Engineering, Dwarikesh Sugar, and Shree Renuka, saw a significant uptick in their values on Thursday. This surge was attributed to a noteworthy development in the market. Authorities had just revised their projections for Maharashtra’s crop output in the 2023–2024 season, slashing it by 14%. This reduction marked the lowest production forecast for the region in four years, according to insights shared by a market research analyst.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Maharashtra, responsible for a significant one-third of India’s sugar production, is anticipated to generate only 9 million metric tonnes of sugar in the upcoming 2023/24 season, a reduction from the 10.5 million tonnes produced in the previous year, 2022-23. This decrease has the potential to drive up sugar prices in both the domestic and international markets, which has ignited optimism among investors in sugar-related stocks, as observed by Vaibhav Vidwani, a Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.

As the closing bell rang, the majority of sectoral indices showed positive performance, with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal leading the pack with gains of 1.64% and 1.49%, respectively.

UPL, Hindalco, Mahindra and Mahindra, ONGC, and Divis Lab emerged as the top gainers on the Nifty index, while Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Coal India, Britannia, and LTI Mindtree were among the notable losers.