The domestic equity benchmarks traded near flatline with minor gains in mid-afternoon trade as investors remained cautious to the news of Operation Sindoor, a targeted strike by Indian forces on terror sites in response to the recent Pahalgam attack. The operation was described as focused and restrained, avoiding Pakistani military targets. The Nifty traded above the 24,400 level. Market sentiment remains volatile due to rising Indo-Pak tensions.
PSU Bank shares advanced after declining in the past two consecutive trading sessions.
At 14:30IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 76.74 points or 0.09% to 80,713.85. The Nifty 50 index added 30.35 points or 0.12% to 24,409.95.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.70%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,855 shares rose and 1,964 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank Index rose 0.18% to 6,235.20. The index fell 4.87% in past two consecutive trading sessions.
Canara Bank (up 1.21%), Bank of India (up 0.61%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 0.58%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.52%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.28%) and Union Bank of India (up 0.03%) advanced.
On the other hand, UCO Bank (down 1.50%), Indian Bank (down 0.70%) and Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.68%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.20% to 6.435 as compared with previous close 6.448.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.7875, compared with its close of 84.3550 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement declined 0.31% to Rs 97,189.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.21% to 99.260.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.25% to 4.329.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2025 settlement gained 80 cents, or 1.29% to $62.95 a barrel.