The frontline indices traded near the flatline with some positive bias in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below 21,650 mark. FMCG, consumer durables and auto shares advanced while metal, realty and IT stocks declined.
At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 21.19 points or 0.03% to 83,735.09. The Nifty 50 index rose 9.95 points or 0.04% to 25,531.05.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.52%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,059 shares rose and 1,756 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
Shriram Finance (up 1.88%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.60%), Bajaj Finance (up 1.38%), Jio Financial Services (up 1.26%) and Bajaj Finserv (up 0.78%) were major Nifty gainers.
Tata Steel (down 2.33%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.98%), HCL Technologies (down 1.97%), Wipro (down 1.71%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.07%) were major Nifty losers.
Tata Steel declined 2.33% after the company’s India crude steel production fell 0.19% to 5.26 million tonnes in Q1 FY26 as against 5.27 million tonnes in Q1 FY25. Deliveries volume of India crude steel production stood at 4.75 million tonnes in Q1 FY26, down 3.85% YoY.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Tata Motors shed 0.23%. The company’s global wholesales (including Jaguar Land Rover) declined 9% to 2,99,664 units compared with Q1 FY26. Global wholesales of all Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range in Q1 FY26 were at 87,569 nos., lower by 6%, over Q1 FY25.
Vedanta fell 3.47% after US-based Viceroy Research said it has shorted the debt stack of Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL), the parent company, describing it as a "financial zombie" kept alive by draining cash from its Indian subsidiary.
Oriana Power surged 4.65% after its wholly owned subsidiary, Truere Knight has signed BESPA with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RVUNL) to set up a 50 MW/100 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Rajasthan.
Bajel Projects hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced a significant capacity expansion plan to cater to rising captive demand and boost sales in both domestic and international markets.
Bharat Road Network rose 4.49% after the company announced that its subsidiary, Orissa Steel Expressway Pvt Ltd (OSEPL), received Rs 383.85 crore from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Global Markets:
European markets opened higher on Wednesday as investors attempting to gauge the full scope of US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs
Asian markets traded mixed after US President Donald Trump ruled out any extension to the looming August 1 tariff deadline. On Tuesday, he also announced a steep 50% duty on copper imports and signaled that more sector-specific tariffs could follow soon.
In a bold move, Trump threatened to slap tariffs of up to 200% on pharmaceutical exports to the US. However, he added a grace period of "about a year, year and a half" before the measure kicks in.
Meanwhile, fresh economic data from China painted a mixed picture. The country's producer price index tumbled 3.6% in June from a year earlier, the sharpest drop in nearly two years. On the flip side, the consumer price index inched up just 0.1% year-on-year.
Back in the US, Wall Street remained jittery over escalating trade tensions. The Dow fell 0.37%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.07%, and the NASDAQ managed a slim gain of 0.03%.
All eyes now turn to the Federal Reserve, with the minutes from its June policy meeting set to be released later today. Investors will be scanning the details for clues on the Fed's next move on interest rates.