| The key equity indices opened with slight gains in early trade as the Nifty traded above the 26,150 mark. Market activity is expected to stay range-bound in the absence of strong global economic triggers and due to the New Year holiday. Trading may witness volatility due to the expiry of the weekly Sensex derivatives contract. Auto stocks will be in focus as companies announce their monthly sales numbers.
Media, auto and IT shares rally while FMCG, pharma and PSU Bank shares declined.
At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 98.47 points or 0.12% to 85,319.07. The Nifty 50 index added 36.90 points or 0.15% to 26,167.60.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.07% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.07%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,706 shares rose and 1,046 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,492.04 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 6,542.14 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 December 2025, provisional data showed.
Stocks in Spotlight:
NBCC (India) advanced 1.15% after the company said it has secured multiple construction orders aggregating Rs 383 crore from Canara Bank and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.
Titagarh Rail Systems rose 0.83%. The company said its board has approved a business transfer agreement to transfer its Shipbuilding, Marine and Systems (SMS) business to its arm, Titagarh Naval Systems, in a transaction valued at Rs 114.9 crore, which will be executed in accordance with the terms of the pact.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories shed 0.87%. The company said its Switzerland-based arm has received a complete response letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration for the biologics license application of its proposed biosimilar AVT03.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.24% to 6.592 as compared with the previous close of 6.576.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 89.9900 compared with its close of 89.8800 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement shed 0.04% to Rs 135,390.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 98.28.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.65% to 4.177.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement declined 49 cents or 0.80% to $60.84 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Both the US and major Asian markets will remain shut today on account of the New Year’s Day holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 pulled back on Wednesday, though the index still closed out a bumper year.
The broad market S&P 500 dipped 0.74% and closed at 6,845.50, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76% and ended at 23,241.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 303.77 points, or 0.63%, and settled at 48,063.29. |