Benchmarks trade in positive terrain; IT shares drop

The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in mid-afternoon trade, buoyed by encouraging eight core industries data. Traders will closely monitoring rupee movement, FII activity, ongoing IPO activity, and global cues. The Nifty traded above the 26,200 level.

IT shares declined after gaining over the past four consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 103.12 points or 0.12% to 85,670.60. The Nifty 50 index added 48 points or 0.18% to 26,220.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.34%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 2,292 shares rose and 1,803 shares fell. A total of 211 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.80% to 9.50.

Economy:

The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 1.8% (provisional) in November, 2025 as compared to the Index in November, 2024. The production of Cement, Steel, Fertilizer and Coal recorded positive growth in November, 2025.

Coal production rose 2.1% in November 2025 compared with November 2024. Crude oil output declined 3.2% year-on-year, while natural gas production fell 2.5% during the same period. Petroleum refinery production also slipped 0.9% in November 2025 over a year ago.

Steel production increased 6.1% year-on-year, cement output surged 14.5%, while electricity generation declined 2.2% in November 2025 compared with November 2024. Fertilizer production increased by 5.6% YoY in November 2025.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index declined 0.73% to 39,200.35. The Index rallied 3.75% in the past four consecutive trading sessions.

Coforge (down 4.37%), Infosys (down 1.25%), Persistent Systems (down 1.12%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.8%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.69%), Wipro (down 0.37%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.26%), LTIMindtree (down 0.14%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.06% to 6.673 compared with previous session close of 6.669.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 89.7350 compared with its close of 89.6700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement advanced 1.22% to Rs 138,416.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.26% to 98.01.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.53% to 4.147.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement fell 4 cents or 0.06% to $62.03 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Soma Papers & Industries was locked in 5% upper circuit after the company announced that its subsidiary KS Smart Solutions has been awarded a project worth Rs 172.65 crore by the School Education Department, Government of Punjab.

Vardhman Special Steels rose 0.48%. The company said that it has approved an investment of Rs 475 crore to set up a new Steel forging and machining manufacturing facility in Ludhiana.

Belrise Industries surged 6.15% after the company announced a strategic agreement with Israel-based Plasan Sasa. In a regulatory filing, Belrise said it entered into an exclusive teaming and strategic agreement with Plasan Sasa on 18 December 2025. The agreement is valid for three years and will be subject to annual performance reviews based on mutually agreed key performance indicators.

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