Nifty below 24,700 level; metal shares lose sheen

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,700 level. Metal shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 265.18 points or 0.33% to 80,920.40. The Nifty 50 index lost 105.85 points or 0.42% to 24,665.55.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.62% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.49%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,625 shares rose and 2,178 shares fell. A total of 201 shares were unchanged.

Economy

India's manufacturing sector saw its strongest performance in four months in July, according to the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The index rose from 58.4 in June to 59.1 in July, indicating a solid improvement in business conditions. A score above 50 signals growth, while below 50 indicates contraction.

The rise was mainly driven by a sharp increase in new orders, as companies benefited from strong demand and effective marketing efforts. In fact, sales grew at their fastest pace in nearly five years, highlighting growing confidence in the manufacturing sector.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.64% to 11.73. The Nifty 28 August 2025 futures were trading at 24,740.50, at a premium of 74.95 points as compared with the spot at 24,665.55.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 August 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 50 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 40.8 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 1.10% to 9,183.10. The index dropped 2.41% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Tata Steel (down 2.6%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (down 2.11%), Steel Authority of India (down 2.04%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.66%), JSW Steel (down 1.42%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.37%), Welspun Corp (down 1.21%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.13%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.8%) and Adani Enterprises (down 0.79%) declined.

On the other hand, Jindal Stainless (up 1.66%), Vedanta (up 0.45%) and APL Apollo Tubes (up 0.31%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Chalet Hotels soared 3.77% after the companys consolidated net profit zoomed 234.89% to Rs 203.15 crore on 147.79% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 894.55 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality declined 2.62% after the companys consolidated net loss widened to Rs 16.40 crore in Q1 FY26 compared with a net loss of Rs 4.86 crore in Q1 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 2.85% YoY to Rs 296.98 crore in Q1 FY26, primarily due to softer sales in the India business.

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