BENCHMARKS PARE ALL GAINS; EUROPEAN MRKT ADVANCE

The key equity indices pared all initial gains and traded with marginal losses in afternoon trade, weighed down by mild profit booking, foreign fund outflows and the expiry of F&O contracts on the BSE. Investors stayed cautious as they tracked developments related to the India�US trade deal, ongoing Q3 earnings announcements and geopolitical developments. The Nifty traded near the 25,700 level.

Metal, PSU Bank and Oil & Gas shares advanced while realty, IT and auto shares declined.

At 13:25 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 101.66 points or 0.12% to 83,523.12. The Nifty 50 index fell 27.65 points or 0.10% to 25,705.20.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.24%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,045 shares rose and 1,949 shares fell. A total of 206 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

NTPC (up 3.57%), Tata Steel (up 3.57%), Axis Bank (up 2.95%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)(up 2.81%) and Ultratech Cement (up 2.04%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (down 1.92%), Asian Paints (down 1.76%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.64%), Hindustan Unilever (down 1.61%) and Tech Mahindra (down 1.36%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Economy:

The annual rate of inflation based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) increased 0.83% year-on-year in December 2025, compared with a decline of 0.32% in November 2025. Inflation turned positive after three months and marked the fastest pace since April, mainly driven by higher prices of manufactured products.

Inflation in manufactured products accelerated to 1.82% in December 2025 from 1.33% in November 2025, led by an increase in prices of food products, pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products, and cement, lime & plaster. Inflation in food products rose to 0.90% from 0.62%, while prices of pharmaceuticals increased to 1.60% from 1.39% a month earlier. Inflation in cement, lime & plaster stood at 0.30% compared with 0.08% in November.

Food prices remained unchanged in December after declining 2.27% in November, supported by higher prices of milk, fruits, eggs, meat & fish. Meanwhile, inflation in fuel and power remained negative at 2.31% in December 2025 compared with a contraction of 2.27% in November, weighed down by lower prices of LPG, petrol, and high-speed diesel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Just Dial fell 1.73% the company reported 10.2% decline in net profit to Rs 118 crore despite a 6.4% rise in operating revenue to Rs 305.7 crore in Q3 FY26 as compared with Q3 FY25.

Tata Elxsi fell 4.47% after the company reported 45.28% decline in net profit to Rs 108.89 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 199 crore posted in Q3 FY25. However, revenue from operations rose 1.52% to Rs 953.47 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 939.17 crore posted in Q3 FY25.

5paisa Capital added 1.21% the company reported a 23.98% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 12.30 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, compared to Rs 16.18 crore in the same quarter last year. Total revenue from operations fell 7.02% YoY to Rs 79.28 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2025.

Puravankara surged 12.23% after the real estate developer reported a 17% increase in sales value to Rs 1,414 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Rs 1,209 crore in Q3 FY25. The company�s collections climbed 22% YoY to Rs 1,140 crore in Q3 FY26.

Mini Diamonds India surged 2.82% after the company said it has received an order worth Rs 14 crore from Aura Diamond, a Mumbai-based domestic entity, for the supply of lab-grown polished diamonds.

Global Markets:

European market advanced as investors in the region focus on a meeting between U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials to discuss the Arctic island�s future.

Most Asian markets advanced as Japanese indexes hit record highs on Wednesday.

The rally in Japanese stocks was fuelled by expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could call for a snap election, likely in February. If called, it will be Takaichi�s first time facing Japan�s voters in an election.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell as investors grappled with volatility from a flurry of proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump floated in the past few days.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.19% as investors sold JPMorgan despite better-than-expected numbers, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%.

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