The domestic equity indices traded with modest cuts in the early afternoon trade as geopolitical tensions and tariff-related concerns tempered optimism over the earnings outlook, keeping the Sensex and Nifty just shy of record highs.
The Nifty traded below 26,150 mark. Auto shares declined after advancing in the past six consecutive trading sessions.
At 12:29 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 254.63 points or 0.29% to 84,809.60. The Nifty 50 index fell 77.70 points or 0.30% to 26,101.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,928 shares rose and 2,044 shares fell. A total of 184 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.02% to 10.02. The Nifty 27 January 2026 futures were trading at 26,235, at a premium of 134 points as compared with the spot at 26,101.
The Nifty option chain for the 27 January 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 55.8 lakh contracts at the 27,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 60.5 lakh contracts was seen at 26,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index slipped 0.67% to 28,729.30. The index rallied 4.81% in the past six trading session.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 2.26%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.45%), Tube Investments of India (down 1.17%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.93%), Exide Industries (down 0.91%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 0.87%), Bosch (down 0.85%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.53%), Uno Minda (down 0.36%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.35%) declined.
On the other hand, Bajaj Auto (up 0.83%), Eicher Motors (up 0.38%) and Bharat Forge (up 0.25%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Dev Information Technology (IT) shed 0.17%. The company announced strategic alliance with XDuce to accelerate growth in North America.
Welspun Corp rose 0.29%. The company announced that it has secured a new export order for the supply of large-diameter coated line pipes for projects in the Americas.