The key equity benchmarks traded with major losses in afternoon trade, mirroring weak global cues amid newly introduced Anthropic AI model, raising concerns about the long-term implications for outsourcing-driven IT business models. Sentiment remained cautious and shifting towards risk-off stance. The Nifty traded below the 25,550 mark.
Barring media index all the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in red with metal, IT and realty shares leading the fall.
At 13:25 PM ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 813.20 points or 0.97% to 82,850.87. The Nifty 50 index tanked 263.45 points or 1.02% to 25,542.90.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index dropped 1.20% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slipped 0.99%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,293 shares rose and 2,737 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
Bajaj Finance (up 2.02%), Eicher Motors (up 1.49%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise(up 0.46%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.46%) and Larsen & Tourbo (up 0.29%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.
Hindalco Industries (down 5.17%), Hindustan Unilever (down 3.57%), Eternal (down 3.04%), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 2.62%) and Adani Enterprises (down 2.58%) were the major Nifty50 losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Honasa Consumer gained 3.64% after reporting a strong operational and financial performance for the quarter ended 31 December 2025. On a reported basis, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 602 crore in Q3 FY26, up 16.2% YoY from Rs 518 crore in Q3 FY25. Profit after tax stood at Rs 50 crore in Q3 FY26, up 92.9% YoY from Rs 26 crore in Q3 FY25.
Indian Hotels Company declined 1.10%. The company consolidated net profit jumped 55.10% to Rs 903.23 crore on 12.91% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,841.96 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.
NIBE tumbled 5.95% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 18.87 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with a net profit of Rs 1.94 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 60.3% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 59.08 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2025.
Lupin shed 0.16%. The company reported 37.46% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,175.55 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 855.16 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Total revenue from operations jumped 24.26% year-on-year to Rs 7,167.52 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2025.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) declined 2.62%. The company reported 1.60% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 8,371.85 crore in Q3 FY2, compared with Rs 8,239.92 crore in Q3 FY25. However, revenue from operations declined 6.43% YoY to Rs 31,546.51 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2025.
Global Markets:
European market advanced as investors awaited U.S. inflation data, due later today.
The Asia-Pacific market declined Friday, tracking Wall Street declines, as fears over artificial intelligence disruption drove the S&P 500 to a third straight day of losses.
Certain pockets of the U.S. stock market have been hit this year by the release of AI tools that threaten to automate tasks performed by some companies—or at least risk eating into their profit margins.
Overnight on Wall Street, US stocks fell sharply Thursday as the market punished companies seen as potential losers from artificial-intelligence technology.
The S&P 500 fell 108.71 points to 6,832.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 669.42 to 49,451.98, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 469.32 to 22,597.15.