The headline equity benchmarks traded near the flatline with some positive points in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,150 mark. Auto shares slipped after advancing for previous two trading session.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 5.01 points or 0.01% to 82,575.30. The Nifty 50 index rose 0.10 points or 0.01% to 25,196.85.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.25%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,146 shares rose and 1,715 shares fell. A total of 202 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1% to 11.37. The Nifty 31 July 2025 futures were trading at 25,211 at a premium of 14.15 points as compared with the spot at 25,196.85.
The Nifty option chain for the 31 July 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 52.4 lakh contracts at the 25,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 62 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index shed 0.54% to 23,775. The index added 1.19% in the previous trading sessions.
Hero MotoCorp (down 1.06%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.83%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.72%), Exide Industries (down 0.65%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 0.58%), Bosch (down 0.57%), Balkrishna Industries (down 0.57%), Tata Motors (down 0.56%), Bharat Forge (down 0.44%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.42%) down.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company rose 1.42% after the company reported standalone net profit of Rs 747.08 crore in Q1 FY26, up 28.72% as against Rs 580.37 crore posted in Q1 FY25. Total income rose 13.66% year on year to Rs 6,083.36 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2025.
Premier Explosives rose 2% after the company secured an export order worth Rs 105 crore from an international client for the manufacture and supply of defence explosives.