The headline equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early afternoon trade as profit booking set in. Investors will monitor the quarterly business updates, IPOs activity and upcoming quarterly earnings season.
The Nifty traded below the 25,050 mark. PSU Bank shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 246.96 points or 0.30% to 81,686.73. The Nifty 50 index fell 89.10 points or 0.36% to 25,017.65.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 0.50% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.37%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,662 shares rose and 2,298 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 2.93% to 10.36. The Nifty 28 October 2025 futures were trading at 25,137.70, at a premium of 120.05 points as compared with the spot at 25,017.65.
The Nifty option chain for the 28 October 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 53.8 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 46.5 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 1.06% to 7,503.60. The index shed 0.41% in the previous trading session.
Canara Bank (down 2.19%), Union Bank of India (down 1.96%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.66%), Bank of India (down 1.66%) and UCO Bank (down 1.57%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 1.37%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 1.24%), Central Bank of India (down 1.14%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 0.96%) and Bank of Baroda (down 0.71%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Ajmera Realty jumped 2.74% after the company announced quarterly sales of Rs 720 crore for Q2 FY26, which is an increase of 184% as compared with the sales of Rs 254 crore recorded in Q2 FY25.
Keystone Realtors rose 0.36%. The company reported 9% growth in pre-sales to Rs 763 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 700 crore in Q2 FY25.