The key equity indices witnessed small cuts in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,500 level. Auto shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 153.99 points or 0.18% to 83,558.52. The Nifty 50 index lost 42.75 points or 0.17% to 25,477.55.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.30%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,999 shares rose and 1,950 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.15% to 11.81.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index rose 0.46% to 23,962. The index fell 0.18% in the past three trading sessions.
MRF (up 3.44%), Bosch (up 1.48%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.9%), Samvardhana Motherson International (up 0.73%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.66%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.54%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.49%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.39%), TVS Motor Company (up 0.25%) and Tata Motors (up 0.19%) advanced.
On the other hand, Tube Investments of India (down 1.19%), Bharat Forge (down 1.05%) and Exide Industries (down 0.41%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.06% to 6.310 from the previous close of 6.306.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.7050 compared with its close of 85.7300 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement shed 0.54% to Rs 95,947.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.05% to 97.55.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.45% to 4.396.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2025 settlement shed 46 cents or 0.66% to $ 70.61 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bajel Projects hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced a significant capacity expansion plan to cater to rising captive demand and boost sales in both domestic and international markets.
Vedanta fell 3.27% after US-based Viceroy Research said it has shorted the debt stack of Vedanta Resources (VRL), the parent company, describing it as a "financial zombie" kept alive by draining cash from its Indian subsidiary.