The key domestic indices pared most of their gains and traded with minor gains in the mid-afternoon trade amid profit booking and FII selling. The market sentiment turned cautious, overshadowing the optimism surrounding the conclusion of the India–EU free trade agreement (FTA). Investors are closely tracking rupee movements, crude oil, ongoing Q3 earnings announcements, and geopolitical developments, while also tracking upcoming Q3 results from Larsen & Toubro and BHEL. The Nifty slipped below the 25,250 level.
Realty shares climbed for second consecutive trading session.
At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 70.28 points or 0.09% to 81,927.48. The Nifty 50 index added 43.15 points or 0.18% to 25,217.60.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.41% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.41%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,736 shares rose and 1,408 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 5.43% to 13.67.
Indian Politics:
Ajit Pawar, NCP chief and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, died in a plane crash near Baramati on Wednesday while travelling from Mumbai. Four others, including the pilots and his security personnel, were also killed. The small aircraft, a Learjet 45 operated by VSR, reportedly crashed during a landing attempt near Baramati airport about 45 minutes after take-off, as Pawar was on his way to attend public meetings ahead of the local body polls.
Television visuals showed fire and wreckage at the site, while media reports said all five people on board died. The 66-year-old leader was the nephew of Sharad Pawar and the cousin of Supriya Sule, both of whom were in Delhi and were expected to travel to Pune.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Realty index fell 0.86% to 765.90. The index gained 1.26% in the two consecutive trading sessions.
Sobha (up 3.12%), DLF (up 2.04%), Godrej Properties (up 1.5%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.49%), Lodha Developers (up 1.14%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.4%) and Phoenix Mills (up 0.08%) surged.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was declined 0.16% to 6.708 as compared with the previous close of 6.719.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.8000 compared with its close of 91.6850 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement rallied 4% to Rs 1,64,000.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.51% to 96.24.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.45% to 4.242.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2026 settlement was unchanged at $67.57 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bikaji Foods International added 2.58% after the company’s consolidated net profit surged 116.32% to Rs 62.17 crore on 11.45% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 775.78 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.
Vodafone Idea shed 0.20% after the company’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 5,286 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 6,609 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 11,323 crore, up 1.9% YoY.
Siyaram Silk Mills declined 5.66% to Rs 526 after the company reported a 7.98% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 41.77 crore on a 9.35% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 624.08 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.