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The headline equity benchmarks trimmed some losses and traded with modest declines in mid-afternoon trade, tracking weak global cues, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2026, scheduled to be presented on 1 February 2026. Market participants are closely monitoring the rupee's movement, ongoing Q3 corporate earnings, and evolving geopolitical developments for fresh direction. Investor focus is also on quarterly results due later today from key companies such as Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation of India, Nestl' India, and Ambuja Cements. Reflecting the subdued sentiment, the Nifty slipped below the 25,300 level during morning trade. Metal, IT and oil & gas shares declined, while media, FMCG and realty shares advanced. At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 272.19 points or 0.33% to 82,286.02. The Nifty 50 index lost 87.35 points or 0.34% to 25,330.45. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap select index slipped 0.14% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap select index fell 0.19%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,422 shares rose and 1,704 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.97% to 13.77. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Oil & Gas index fell 0.63% to 11,780.85. The index jumped 4.84% in the past three consecutive trading sessions. Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 2.10%), Petronet LNG (down 1.84%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 1.7%), Oil India (down 1.59%), Indraprastha Gas (down 1.52%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 1.02%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 0.51%), GAIL (India) (down 0.44%), Mahanagar Gas (down 0.33%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.32%) declined. On the other hand, Aegis Logistics (up 5.77%), Gujarat Gas (up 0.67%) and Reliance Industries (up 0.36%) edged higher. Numbers to Track: The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.09% to 6.693 as compared with the previous close of 6.699. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.9300 compared with its close of 91.9950 during the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement dropped 3.78% to Rs 1,62,999. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.23% to 96.36. The United States 10-year bond yield gained 1.14% to 4.276. In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2026 settlement lost $1.01 or 1.45% to $68.67 a barrel. Stocks in Spotlight: Cupid surged 7.84% after the company reported a 196.29% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 32.83 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 11.08 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 101.70% YoY to Rs 93.49 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2025. TD Power Systems zoomed 9.29% after the company reported a 25.4% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 56.32 crore on a 26.4% rise in net sales to Rs 442.68 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25. Powered by Capital Market - Live News
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