Market trades marginally higher; European markets decline

The frontline equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in the afternoon trade, buoyed by optimism surrounding the conclusion of the IndiaEU free trade agreement (FTA) and FII inflows. Investors are closely tracking rupee movements, ongoing Q3 earnings announcements, and geopolitical developments, with attention also on upcoming Q3 results from Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki India, and BHEL.

The Nifty traded above the 25,200 level. Oil & gas, metal and media shares advanced, while FMCG, pharma and healthcare shares corrected.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 136.37 points or 0.17% to 81,993.85. The Nifty 50 index rose 61.65 points or 0.25% to 25,237.05.

 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.39% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.11%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,761 shares rose and 1,316 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 4.35% to 13.82.

Gainers & Losers:

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 7.58%), Hindalco Industries (up 4.30%), Coal India (up 3.80%), Bharat Electronics (up 3.26%) and Eternal (up 2.68%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Tata Consumer Products (down 5.10%), Asian Paints (down 4.16%), Eicher Motors (down 1.89%), Infosys (down 1.74%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 1.73%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Indian Politics:

Ajit Pawar, NCP chief and Maharashtras Deputy Chief Minister, died in a plane crash near Baramati on Wednesday while travelling from Mumbai. Four others, including the pilots and his security personnel, were also killed. The small aircraft, a Learjet 45 operated by VSR, reportedly crashed during a landing attempt near Baramati airport about 45 minutes after take-off, as Pawar was on his way to attend public meetings ahead of the local body polls.

Television visuals showed fire and wreckage at the site, while media reports said all five people on board died. The 66-year-old leader was the nephew of Sharad Pawar and the cousin of Supriya Sule, both of whom were in Delhi and were expected to travel to Pune.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sunteck Realty rose 0.84%. The company reported a 33.7% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 56.84 crore on a 112.7% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 344.12 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Vishal Mega Mart tanked 5.72%. The company reported a 19.10% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 312.92 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Rs 262.72 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations rose 17.04% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,670.41 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2025.

Mahindra Logistics surged 15.51% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3.25 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with a net loss of Rs 9.03 crore in Q3 FY25 Mahindra Logistics surged 14.65% to Rs 337 after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3.25 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with a net loss of Rs 9.03 crore in Q3 FY25..

Motilal Oswal Financial Services surged 8.80% after the company reported a strong set of earnings for the quarter ended December 2025. The companys profit after tax (PAT), including treasury income and other comprehensive income (OCI), jumped 58% year on year to Rs 721 crore in Q3 FY26, aided by healthy traction in its asset and private wealth management businesses. Total revenue improved 11% to Rs 1,497 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 1,345 crore in Q3 FY25.

Bondada Engineering declined 4.10%. The companys consolidated net profit zoomed 119.12% to Rs 54.19 crore in Q3 FY26 as against Rs 24.73 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 89.40% year on year (YoY) to Rs 712.27 crore in Q3 FY26.

Nesco shed 0.67%. The company reported a 4.82% YoY decline in net profit to Rs 104.64 crore in Q3 FY26, on a 20.03% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 247.92 crore compared with Q3 FY25.

Global Markets:

European markets declined on Wednesday as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings and remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserves interest rate decision, due later in the day.

Most Asian markets traded higher, with strong gains in technology and AI-related shares ahead of key U.S. megacap earnings outweighing caution in some markets ahead of the Federal Reserves interest rate decision later in the day.

Meanwhile, Australia saw its headline inflation come in at 3.6% for the last quarter of 2025, its highest level of inflation in six quarters.

Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.91% to settle at 23,817.10, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke ranks, losing 408.99 points, or 0.83%, and settling at 49,003.4 while S&P 500 added 0.41% to end at 6,978.60.

The S&P 500 futures edged higher ahead of the Federal Reserves interest rate decision and earnings reports from major tech companies.

The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, but traders will be seeking hints on longer-term changes to monetary policy.

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