The key equity indices witnessed modest cuts in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,450 mark. Metal shares advanced after falling in the previous five sessions.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 210.22 points or 0.25% to 83,325.86. The Nifty 50 index lost 73.95 points or 0.29% to 25,403.50.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.29% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.01%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,777 shares rose and 2,182 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.11% to 11.69.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index rose 0.50% to 9,431.10. The index dropped 2.76% in the past five trading sessions.
Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 3.22%), Tata Steel (up 1.3%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 0.97%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.95%), NMDC (up 0.91%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.65%), JSW Steel (up 0.63%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.48%), Jindal Stainless (up 0.21%) and Adani Enterprises (up 0.15%) advanced.
On the other hand, Vedanta (down 0.86%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.55%) and Welspun Corp (down 0.52%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.11% to 6.321 from the previous close of 6.314.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.6725 compared with its close of 85.7300 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement rose 0.22% to Rs 96,670.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 97.46.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.18% to 4.348.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2025 settlement shed 33 cents or 0.47% to $69.86 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Eimco Elecon (India) tanked 9.95% after its standalone net profit declined 2.02% to Rs 14.48 crore, while revenue from operations slipped 3.09% to Rs 67.56 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Shilpa Medicare rose 0.32%. The company announced that its Unit VI facility in Dabaspet, Bengaluru, Karnataka, has received Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).