Indices drift lower in early trade; breadth weak

The key equity barometers traded with major losses in early trade, despite positive global market cues. Investors will monitor rupee movement, ongoing Q3 earnings reports and other geopolitical news. Market participants waiting for Q3 result of Asian Paints. The Nifty traded below the 24,950 mark.

Media, realty and auto shares declined while metal, PSU Bank and pharma shares advanced.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 417.70 points or 0.51% to 81,113.53. The Nifty 50 index fell 109.80 points or 0.44% to 24,938.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.38% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.80%.

 

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,247 shares rose and 2,034 shares fell. A total of 214 shares were unchanged.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) had sold shares worth Rs 40,704.39 so far in January. This follows their cash sales of Rs 34,349.62 crore in December and Rs 17,500.31 crore in November.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) reported a 62.29% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 7,545.27 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 4,649.20 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Net sales (excluding excise duty) rose 5.18% YoY to Rs 1,18,999.37 crore in the December 2025 quarter.

Godrej Consumer Products has reported flat growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 497.91 crore in Q3 FY26, even as net sales increased 8.8% year-on-year to Rs 4,079.47 crore compared with Q3 FY25.

Zydus Lifesciences said that the US FDA conducted an inspection at the groups Unit-2 manufacturing plant in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The inspection was carried out from January 19 to 23 and concluded with three observations. There were no data integrity-related observations.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.06% to 6.651 compared with previous session close of 6.655.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.8300 compared with its close of 91.9050 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement rose 1.65% to Rs 158,608.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 97.06.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.28% to 4.226.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2026 settlement fell 45 cents or 0.69% to $65.14 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian shares advanced on Tuesday despite concerns regarding tariffs resurfaced post US President Donald Trump threatening to increase levies on South Korean goods.

Trump said on Truth Social that South Korea's legislature has not approved Seouls trade deal with Washington, and that tariffs on the country will climb to 25%, from 15%.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 index advanced 0.50%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.64%.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.43%, supported by jumps of about 3%, 2% and 1% in Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft, respectively, ahead of their earnings reports later in the week.

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