Benchmarks trade near flat line; PSU bank shares jump

The key equity benchmarks traded sideways in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded near the 25,950 mark. PSU Bank shares jumped after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 60.88 points or 0.07% to 84,213.04. The Nifty 50 index added 9.15 points or 0.03% to 25,944.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.01%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,855 shares rose and 2,245 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 1.28% to 9,272.75. The index shed 0.19% in the past trading session.

 

State Bank of India (up 3.23%), Union Bank of India (up 0.54%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.31%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.13%) surged.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.18% to 6.715 compared with previous session close of 6.727.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.6600 compared with its close of 90.5600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.83% to Rs 158,109.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.29% to 96.58.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.22% to 4.136.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 97 cents or 1.41% to $69.77 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Britannia Industries gained 2.80% after reporting steady growth in the quarter ended 31 December 2025. On a consolidated basis, net profit stood at Rs 679.96 crore in Q3 FY26, up 16.89% YoY from Rs 581.69 crore in Q3 FY25. On a sequential basis, profit rose 3.89% from Rs 654.47 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations increased 9.45% YoY to Rs 4,885.23 crore, compared with Rs 4,463.30 crore in the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, revenue grew 2.80% from Rs 4,752.17 crore.

Avantel rallied 3.79% after the company said that it has secured an order worth Rs 122.58 crore from NewSpace India for the supply of S/X-band with Ka-band-ready full-motion antennas. The contract, covering supply, installation, and commissioning, is scheduled for completion by August 2027. Key terms include a 2.5% security deposit and a 0.5% performance bank guarantee. The order has been awarded by a domestic entity.

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