The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,150 mark. The sharp rise in India VIX indicates growing volatility expectations as investors stay on the sidelines ahead of key Q3 earnings outcomes and cues from the World Economic Forum.
PSU bank shares witnessed selling pressure for third consecutive trading session.
At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 276.82 points or 0.36% to 81,854.74. The Nifty 50 index fell 97.85 points or 0.39% to 25,134.65.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.95% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.75%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,184 shares rose and 2,892 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 6.71% to 13.59. The Nifty 27 January 2026 futures were trading at 25,162.30, at a premium of 27.65 points as compared with the spot at 25,134.65.
The Nifty option chain for the 27 January 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 151.4 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 125.3 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 1% to 8,779. The index fell 2.61% in the previous three consecutive trading sessions.
Canara Bank (down 1.57%), Union Bank of India (down 1.45%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 1.27%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.11%), State Bank of India (down 0.82%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.79%), Bank of India (down 0.79%), Indian Bank (down 0.51%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.4%) and Central Bank of India (down 0.24%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Shoppers Stop tanked 6.29% after the company’s standalone profit slipped 74.14% to Rs 12.61 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Rs 48.78 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations marginally rose 0.71% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,320.85 crore in Q3 FY26.
Vikram Solar tumbled 6.86% after the company reported a 25.2% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 96.1 crore on a 0.36% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 1,105.95 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q2 FY26.