The headline equity benchmarks traded with major cuts in mid-afternoon trade amid the expiry of F&O contracts on the NSE. The Nifty slipped below the 25,400 level after hitting an intraday high of 25,585 in early trade. Investors are closely tracking the ongoing Q3 earnings season and developments from the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. Media shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 567.07 points or 0.68% to 82,679.11. The Nifty 50 index lost 206.55 points or 0.81% to 25,380.15.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 2.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 2.29%.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 7.63% to 12.73.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,179 shares rose and 3,043 shares fell. A total of 205 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty media index declined 1.15% to 1,368.70. The index jumped 3.3% in the three consecutive trading sessions.
Prime Focus (down 4.9%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 4.28%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 3.94%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 3.88%), Saregama India (down 3.57%), PVR Inox (down 2.84%), D B Corp (down 0.84%) declined.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was down 0.06% to 6.680 as compared with the previous close of 6.684.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9400 compared with its close of 90.9000 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement rose 1.76% to Rs 1,50,008.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.51% to 98.53.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 1.13% to 4.281.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 59 cents or 0.92% to $63.54 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Punjab National Bank fell 2%. The company reported a 13.1% rise in net profit to Rs 5,100 crore on a 7.2% increase in total income to Rs 37,253 crore in Q3 FY26 as compared with Q3 FY25.
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) declined 4.86% after the company reported a net loss of Rs 150.43 crore in Q3 FY26 as against a net loss of Rs 315.11 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 11.6% YoY to Rs 294.31 crore during the quarter.