Nifty trades tad above 25,950; European mrkt advance

The key equity barometers traded with modest gains in the early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a tad above the 25,900 level. Pharma, metal and realty shares advanced, while PSU bank, FMCG and IT shares declined.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 335.37 points or 0.40% to 84,801.88. The Nifty 50 index rose 104.50 points or 0.40% to 25,980.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.15%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,133 shares rose and 1,874 shares fell. A total of 206 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.24% to 12.08.

Indian Economy:

India's cabinet has approved spending Rs 450.6 billion ($5.1 billion) on support for exporters, including 200 billion rupees in credit guarantees on bank loans, Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

The plan includes the allocation of 250.6 billion rupees over six years for affordable trade finance for small exporters, logistics, and market support under an export promotion package to help offset the impact of recent U.S. tariff hikes.

According to the latest data released on Wednesday, Indias retail inflation slowed to a record low of 0.25% in October against 1.54% in September, as food prices fell sharply and tax cuts brought down the prices of items from cars to products in daily use. This marks the fourth consecutive month that inflation has stayed below the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) medium-term target of 4% and has been lower than the central banks tolerance ceiling of 6% for seven straight months. Food prices, which account for nearly half of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, fell 5.02% year-on-year in October against a revised fall of 2.33% in September, the lowest of the current CPI series.

Gainers & Losers:

Asian Paints (up 3.80%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.38%), InterGlobe Aviation (up 2.23%), ICICI Bank (up 2.20%) and Larsen & Toubro (up 1.40%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

ETERNAL (down 2.07%), Tata Motors (down 1.20%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (down 1.02%), Bharat Electronics (down 0.78%) and Shriram Finance (down 0.77%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

H.G. Infra Engineering slipped 2.72% after the company reported a 35.77% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 51.84 crore on a 1.31% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 917.98 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

Afcons Infrastructure fell 1.31% after the companys consolidated net profit declined 22.4% to Rs 105.08 crore despite 1% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2,989.39 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

Cupid added 2.81% after the company reported a 140.47% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 24.12 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 10.03 crore posted in Q2 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 103.22% YoY to Rs 84.44 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2025.

Lemon Tree Hotels declined 4.39% after the company reported a 9.73% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 34.60 crore, while revenue from operations fell 3.01% to Rs 306.28 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced on Thursday, while most Asian shares traded higher after the U.S. government shutdown came to an end following the passage of a short-term funding bill by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill now heads to the desk of President Donald Trump, who is set to sign it into law. The White House has scheduled a bill signing in the Oval Office at 9:45 p.m. ET, just hours before the shutdown was set to enter its 43rd day.

Meanwhile, Japan's wholesale prices rose 2.7% in October from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month due in part to falling import costs, central bank data showed on Thursday.

In Australia, the seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate eased to 4.3%, government jobs data showed Thursday. The latest reading was better than the 4.5% figure recorded in September. The better-than-expected decline in October lowers expectations for a rate cut.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched its first record close above 48,000 on Wednesday, extending its gains from the previous session, as Wall Street looked ahead to a potential end to the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown.

The 30-stock Dow closed up 326.86 points, or 0.68%, at 48,254.82. The index also hit a fresh all-time intraday high in the session. The S&P 500 traded around the flatline, settling up 0.06% at 6,850.92, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.26% to finish at 23,406.46.

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