INDICES NUDGE LOWER; BREADTH NEGATIVE

The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 26,150 mark. Realty, auto and healthcare shares declined, while media, IT and consumer durable shares advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 141.32 points or 0.16% to 85,571.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 56.65 points or 0.21% to 26,128.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.21%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,414 shares rose and 1,727 shares fell. A total of 242 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 438.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,189.17 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 December 2025, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.06% to 6.527 compared with previous session close of 6.531.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.1100 compared with its close of 89.9525 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement fell 0.05% to Rs 130,389.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08% to 98.88.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.02% to 4.139.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for January 2025 settlement rose 12 cents or 0.19% to $63.87 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HFCL added 1.90% after the company announced that it has secured export orders worth $72.96 million (Rs 656.10 crore) for the supply of optical fiber cables (OFC).

Ashoka Buildcon rallied 3.34% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 447.21 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its ongoing flyover construction project on the Sion�Panvel Highway.

MTAR Technologies added 0.85%. The company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 194 crore from Megha Engineering & Infrastructures (MEIL) for the supply of end fittings and associated components.

Global Markets:

Asia�s equity indices opened the week on an uneven note as traders braced for China�s trade numbers, which could hint at the health of global demand.

Attention also drifted toward Washington, where the Federal Reserve meets this week and is widely expected to roll out another interest rate cut. With inflation easing and growth signals turning patchy, investors are hoping the Fed will keep the monetary support flowing.

Fresh revisions from Tokyo added a dash of gloom early Monday. Japan�s economy shrank more than initially reported in the July to September quarter, with official numbers showing GDP contracting at an annualized 2.3%. The decline was steeper than both the earlier 1.8% estimate and economists� expectation of a 2.0% drop, underscoring the challenges facing Asia�s second-largest economy.

Wall Street, however, wrapped up last Friday on a more cheerful note. All three major indices finished in the green as markets sifted through a batch of U.S. data. The S&P 500 notched its fourth straight gain, inching up 0.19% to 6,870.40 and moving to within about 0.7% of its intraday peak. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.31% to 23,578.13, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 104.05 points, or 0.22%, to close at 47,954.99.

Adding fuel to rate-cut hopes was the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index reading for September, the Federal Reserve�s preferred inflation measure. Core PCE climbed 0.2% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, cooler than analysts had pencilled in. Coupled with signs of a softening labor market and increasingly cautious consumers, the reading strengthened expectations that the Fed is preparing to lean further into policy support.

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