The key equity benchmarks traded with minor cuts in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,750 mark. IT, Realty and media shared declined while PSU bank, metal and FMCG shares advanced.
At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 12.62 points or 0.02% to 83,449.41. The Nifty 50 index declined 5.55 points or 0.05% to 25,724.40.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.24% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.37%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,129 shares rose and 1,917 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 3.01% to 12.29.
Gainers & Losers:
Kwality Wall's (India) (up 4.97%), Tata Steel (up 2.97%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.29%), ITC (up 1.94%) and Axis Bank (up 1.20%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.
Wipro (down 2.22%), Tech Mahindra (down 2.18%), Eternal (down 2.18%), Adani Enterprises (down 1.64%) and Infosys (down 1.55%) were the major Nifty50 losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Dilip Buildcon rose 4.08% after the company announced that it has emerged as the lowest (L-1) bidder for a major infrastructure project in Gujarat. The tender, floated by the Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply & Kalpasar Department, is valued at Rs 702 crore.
The project involves the construction of a flood protection embankment on the Narmada River in the Bharuch District. Executed on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis, the project is scheduled for completion within a 24-month timeframe.
Bharti Airtel rose 0.21%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Airtel Money, has received a Certificate of Registration from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Type II Non-Deposit Accepting Non-Banking Financial Company [Type II-NBFC-ND (ICC)].
Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) rose 0.61%. The company has announced that it has received a Letter of Acceptance from Steel Authority of India (SAIL) for executing a Captive Power Plant (CPP) package.
Bosch shed 0.18%. The company announced that its board approved the appointment of Tillmann Olsen as the chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from 1 June 2026.
Dabur India declined 1.68%. The company announced the appointment of Herjit S. Bhalla as chief executive officer (CEO) India Business, with effect from 15 April 2026, as part of a leadership realignment aimed at sharpening operational focus.
Global Markets:
European markets higher on Wednesday as investors monitor global market developments.
The U.K. inflation rate fell to 3% in January, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Asian stocks traded mixed amid renewed concerns over artificial intelligence that continued to weigh on global markets.
Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were among the markets closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
The positive start in Asia followed a lackluster session on Tuesday on Wall Street as investors grappled with the outlook for the AI boom.
Concerns that companies are over-investing, along with angst about the extent to which the nascent technology could disrupt labor markets, have fuelled investor jitters in recent weeks.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.07% to 49,533.19, the S&P 500 was up 0.10% at 6,843.22, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.14% to 22,578.38. The S&P 500 fell 0.88% initially before making up ground to close in positive territory.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were little changed on Wednesday after both slid to close at more than two-week lows in the previous session.
Following talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Iran's foreign minister reportedly said Tehran and Washington reached an understanding on main "guiding principles" towards resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute, easing worries about a military conflict near the Strait of Hormuz that could disrupt global oil supply.