BENCHMARKS END FLAT AMID EXPIRY VOLATILITY, NIFTY ENDS BELOW 25,150 MARK

Benchmark equity indices ended nearly flat as the expiry of weekly Sensex derivatives contracts capped gains in the absence of major economic cues. The Nifty closed below the 25,150 mark after giving up early advances, with auto and metal stocks rising while pharma and healthcare shares declined, as investors shifted focus to the upcoming earnings season.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 32 points or 0.04% to 85,188.60. The Nifty 50 index gained 16.95 points or 0.06% to 26,146.55.

ITC (down 9.69%), Bajaj Finance (down 1.46%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.42%) were major index drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index climbed 0.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.02%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,211 shares rose and 1,952 shares fell. A total of 176 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 3.06% to 9.19.

Economy:

GST revenues in December showed a modest pickup, with gross collections rising to Rs 1.74 lakh crore, up 6.1% year on year and marking the fastest growth in three months after a softer November. However, the improvement was driven largely by imports, with GST from imports jumping nearly 20%, while domestic collections grew only 1.2%. After adjusting for refunds, net GST revenue stood at Rs 1.46 lakh crore, reflecting a muted 2.2% increase. Major industrial states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu remained the biggest contributors, and overall trends suggest the economy continues to expand steadily, supported by import demand and gradual formalisation.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.03% to 6.590 as compared with the previous close of 6.588.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 89.9750 compared with its close of 89.8800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement rose 0.22% to Rs 135,750.

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 March 2025 settlement declined 49 cents or 0.80% to $60.84 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Major markets in the US, Europe and Asia are 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.

Monthly Auto Sales:

Tata Motors (formerly TML Commercial Vehicles) added 2.66% after the company�s total sales commercial vehicle (CV) jumped 25% to 42,508 units in December 2025 compared with 33,875 units sold in December 2024.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.40% after the company reported 25% increase in total auto sales for December 2025, selling 86,090 vehicles during the period under review as against 68,814 vehicles sold in December 2024.

Ashok Leyland rallied 3.13% after the company reported a 27% increase in total commercial vehicle sales to 21,533 units in December 2025, up from 16,957 units sold in December 2024.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.15%. The company reported total sales of 2,17,854 units in December 2025, marking a 22.21% increase compared to 1,78,248 units sold in the same month last year.

Eicher Motors added 0.45%. The company�s unlisted subsidiary, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), reported a 24.7% year-on-year jump in commercial vehicle (CV) sales to 10,384 units in December 2025.

Steel Strips Wheels (SSWL) surged 8.31% after the company reported a net turnover of Rs 446.59 crore for December 2025, marking a 22.44% year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to Rs 364.74 crore recorded in December 2024.

Escorts Kubota gained 2.71% after the company�s agri-machinery business division sold 7,577 tractors in December 2025, registering a growth of 38.5% compared with 5,472 tractors sold in December 2024.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of cigarette makers fell after the government imposed additional excise duty on cigarettes and introduced a Health and National Security Cess on pan masala, effective 1 February 2026. The move raises the tax burden above existing GST rates, with cigarettes attracting excise duty of Rs 2,050 to Rs 8,500 per thousand sticks and GST of 40% on tobacco products, which is expected to push up prices and weigh on sales volumes. Godfrey Phillips India fell 17.09%, ITC dropped 9.69%, while VST Industries slipped 1.01%.

Sattrix Information Security hit an upper limit of 10% at Rs 263.90 after the company announced receipt of initial work orders from Hitachi Systems India.

Sunteck Realty surged 8.19% after GST authorities ruled in the company�s favour, fully setting aside a Rs 5.99 crore tax demand, along with interest and penalty, linked to Transferable Development Rights transactions for FY22. The order, passed on December 31, 2025, accepted Sunteck Realty�s submissions against a show cause notice issued in September under Section 73 of the GST Act.

Dr Reddy�s Laboratories declined 1.47%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Dr. Reddy�s Laboratories SA, Switzerland, has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the USFDA for its Biologics License Application (BLA) for AVT03 (denosumab).

Kalpataru Projects International (KPIL) shed 0.23%. The company along with its joint venture, has secured new orders worth approximately Rs 719 crore.

Blue Dart Express gained 2.81% after tax authorities largely dropped a Rs 420.78 crore GST demand on its subsidiary Blue Dart Aviation.

Dev Information Technology (IT) jumped 4.88% after the company secured a noteworthy order worth Rs 1.90 crore from the Directorate of Food and Civil Supplies, an undertaking of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Gujarat.

KEC International rose 0.44%. The company announced that it has secured new orders totalling Rs 1,050 crore across its various business verticals.

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