The frontline indices traded with modest cuts in early afternoon trade as investors awaited the RBI's monetary policy decision later in the week amid ongoing trade war concerns. The Nifty traded below the 23,650 mark. Consumer duarables shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty 50 F&O series expiry today.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 260.19 points or 0.33% to 78,004.52. The Nifty 50 index lost 83.65 points or 0.35% to 23,612.65.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.61% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.05%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,961 shares rose and 1,783 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.73% to 14.33. The Nifty 27 February 2025 futures were trading at 23,709, at a premium of 96.35 points as compared with the spot at 23,612.65.
The Nifty option chain for the 27 February 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 50.7 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 58.5 lakh contracts were seen at 23,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Consumer Durables index declined 1.41% to 38,270.95. The index dropped 2.41% in two consecutive trading sessions.
Kalyan Jewellers India (down 2.98%), Dixon Technologies (India) (down 2.77%), Titan Company (down 1.88%), Voltas (down 1.71%), Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals (down 1.34%), Whirlpool of India (down 1.33%), Kajaria Ceramics (down 0.81%), Century Plyboards (India) (down 0.78%), V-Guard Industries (down 0.74%) and Amber Enterprises India (down 0.73%) declined.
On the other hand, Rajesh Exports (up 4.01%), Cera Sanitaryware (up 0.47%) and Blue Star (up 0.15%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Azad Engineering gained 2.29% after the company has signed pact with Rolls- Royce PLC, London- United Kingdom to produce civil aircraft engine components in India.
Cummins India added 1.58% after the company’s standalone net profit jumped 12.98% to Rs 514 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 454.92 crore posted in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations was at Rs 3,041.42 crore in Q3 FY25, marking a growth of 21.56% as against Rs 2,501.81 crore reported in the same quarter last year.
Data Patterns (India) slipped 2.74% after the company’s standalone net profit fell 12.4% to Rs 44.66 crore in Q3 FY25 as against Rs 50.97 crore posted in Q3 FY24. The company’s revenue from operations declined 16.1% YoY to Rs 117.04 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2024.