At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 655.51 points or 0.97% to 66,941.33. The Nifty 50 index lost 186.30 points or 0.93% to 19,947.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.33%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,504 shares rose and 2,015 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.03% to 11.27. The Nifty 28 September 2023 futures were trading at 20,019, at a premium of 72 points as compared with the spot at 19,947.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 September 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 41.5 lakh contracts at the 20,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 50.7 lakh contracts were seen at 19,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index declined 0.87% to 6,897.10. The index slipped 2.13% in three trading sessions.

Jindal Stainless (down 4.28%), Vedanta (down 1.52%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.47%), JSW Steel (down 1.4%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.24%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.15%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 1.08%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.61%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.59%) and Tata Steel (down 0.57%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Insolation Energy fell 0.13% after the company informed that its wholly owned subsidiary Insolation Green Energy has commercialized production of 600 MW.

Ashoka Buildcon rose 0.90% after the company received award from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) for loss reduction works at various circles in the state of Maharashtra aggregating to Rs 645.70 crore.

SJVN surged 9.05% after the company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PFC for financial assistance to various diversified portfolio of projects.