NIFTY TRADES BELOW 26,200 LEVEL; EUROPEAN MRKT ADVANCE

The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with modest cuts in early-afternoon trade as investors weighed the risks of fresh U.S. tariffs against a steady stream of quarterly earnings reports that have kept hopes of an earnings recovery alive. The Nifty traded below the 26,200 level. Oil & gas and media shares declined, while pharma, PSU bank and metal shares advanced.

At 1:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 466.30 points or 0.55% to 84,973.32. The Nifty 50 index dropped 91.05 points or 0.35% to 26,157.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.21% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.33%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,620 shares rose and 2,398 shares fell. A total of 191 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India�s services sector continued to expand in December 2025, but at the slowest pace in 11 months. The HSBC India Services PMI fell to 58.0 in December from 59.8 in November, indicating a moderation in activity while remaining well above the 50-point expansion threshold. Slower growth was driven by easing new business inflows and stalled hiring, while business confidence slipped to its lowest level in over three years. On the positive side, new export orders rose, supporting international demand, and inflationary pressures remained subdued, allowing firms to maintain competitive pricing. The composite PMI, which combines both services and manufacturing activity, also eased to 57.8, reflecting continued overall expansion of the economy but at a moderated pace.

Gainers & Losers:

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 3.44%), ICICI Bank (up 2.78%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.48%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.20%) and Hindalco Industries (up 2.18%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Trent (down 7.66%), Reliance Industries (down 4.45%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.39%), ITC (down 1.93%) and Jio Financial Services (down 1.61%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

KSH International rallied 3.69% after the company�s consolidated net profit surged 129.02% to Rs 29.59 crore on a 50.73% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 712.14 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

MOIL added 3.14% after the company said that it has achieved a record manganese ore production of 4.77 lakh tonnes in Q3 FY26, registering a growth of about 3.7% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY).

Dev Information Technology rose 1.41% after the company announced that it had secured an order worth about Rs 26 lakh from Core Technologies.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (PV) declined 1.54% after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)�s Q3 volumes were impacted by a cyber incident and US tariffs, leading to sharp year-on-year and sequential declines in both wholesale and retail sales.

IndusInd Bank rose 2.16%. The bank reported a 3.8% decline in deposits to Rs 3,94,022 crore as of 31st December 2025 compared with Rs 4,09,438 crore as of 31st December 2024.

Global Markets:

European shares opened higher on Tuesday as investors track geopolitical developments following the U.S.′ ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed, building on a record-breaking rally in global stocks as investors continued to assess ongoing geopolitical tensions following the U.S. attack on Venezuela and capture of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. big oil got a boost from the country`s military raid at the weekend that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Crude oil eased back after rising $1 a barrel overnight as traders assessed the possible impact on crude flows from Venezuela, home to the world`s largest oil reserves.

Overall, however, the events had a limited effect on risk sentiment, with equities driven more by momentum and currencies focused on macroeconomic data.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would put Venezuela under temporary American control and that he could order another strike if the South American nation does not cooperate with U.S. efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug trafficking. He also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico.

Trump plans to meet with executives from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, media reports stated.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks rose even after the U.S. attack on Venezuela, as crude oil prices advanced and investors bet the action would not lead to broader geopolitical conflict.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 594.79 points, or 1.23%, to close at 48,977.18. The 30-stock index also hit a new all-time high in the session. The S&P 500 advanced 0.64% and ended at 6,902.05. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.69%, settling at 23,395.82.

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