BAROMETERS TRADE WITH SUBSTANTIAL CUTS; METAL SHARES DECLINE

The headline equity indices traded with significant losses in the early afternoon trade, pausing a six-day winning streak driven by optimism surrounding Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms. The cautious sentiment came as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell�s policy remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day.

The Nifty traded below the 24,950 mark. Metal shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 504.43 points or 0.63% to 81,496.28. The Nifty 50 index fell 156.36 points or 0.63% to 24,927.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.03% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.14%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,744 shares rose and 2,137 shares fell. A total of 202 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.08% to 11.61. The Nifty 28 August 2025 futures were trading at 24,939.20 at a premium of 11.75 points as compared with the spot at 24,927.45.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 August 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 237 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 111.6 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 0.86% to 9,411.60. The index declined 0.90% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Lloyds Metals & Energy (down 1.72%), Adani Enterprises (down 1.65%), JSW Steel (down 1.47%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.94%), Steel Authority of India (down 0.80%), Tata Steel (down 0.71%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.71%), Hindustan Copper (down 0.65%), Vedanta (down 0.64%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.58%) slipped.

On the other hand, Jindal Stainless (up 0.74%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.04%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever lost 0.99%. The company announced the appointment of Niranjan Gupta as chief financial officer�designate and member of the company�s management committee from 1 September 2025.

PTC Industries rallied 3.48% after the company announced that it has secured a Rs 110-crore order from BrahMos Aerospace for the supply of critical titanium castings.

NTPC Green Energy added 1.06% after company�s wholly owned subsidiary, NTPC Renewable Energy has commissioned third part capacity of 49.125 MW out of its 300 MW Khavda solar energy project at Bhuj, Gujarat.

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