The key equity benchmark traded with small gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,650 mark. Private bank shares declined for the fourth consecutive trading session.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 7.34 points or 0.02% to 80,903.18. The Nifty 50 index rose 15.35 points or 0.06% to 24,699.95.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.30% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.10%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,825 shares rose and 1,960 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.22% to 12.04. The Nifty 31 July 2025 futures were trading at 24,724, at a premium of 24.05 points as compared with the spot at 24,699.95.
The Nifty option chain for the 31 July 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 165.9 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 104.2 lakh contracts was seen at 24,700 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Private Bank index shed 0.50% to 27,012.60. The index fell 3.65% in four consecutive trading sessions.
Axis Bank (down 1.47%), Bandhan Bank (down 1.02%), Federal Bank (down 0.89%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.53%), IDFC First Bank (down 0.51%), ICICI Bank (down 0.5%), RBL Bank (down 0.3%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.05%) declined.
On the other hand, HDFC Bank (up 0.32%) and Yes Bank (up 0.31%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection jumped 11.74% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 53.5% to Rs 20.63 crore on a 31.9% rise in revenue to Rs 319.51 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders declined 4.07% after the company’s consolidated net profit declined 35% to Rs 452.15 crore despite of 11.4% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 2,625.59 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.