Sensex drops over 250 pts; PSU bank shares slide

The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in mid-afternoon trade. Investors are closely tracking the ongoing Q3 earnings season and developments from the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, scheduled from 19 January 2025 to 23 January 2026. The Nifty traded below the 25,650 mark. Auto shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 249.58 points or 0.30% to 83,320.77. The Nifty 50 index lost 92.60 points or 0.36% to 25,602.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.59% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 1.22%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,179 shares rose and 3,043 shares fell. A total of 205 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 0.55% to 8,964.40. The index jumped 4.42% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Punjab National Bank (down 2.79%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 2.04%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 1.75%), Central Bank of India (down 0.47%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.36%), State Bank of India (down 0.12%), Canara Bank (down 0.12%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 0.15% to 6.688 as compared with the previous close of 6.678.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9650 compared with its close of 90.7875 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement rose 1.76% to Rs 1,45,030.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.22% to 99.17.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.38% to 4.249.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2025 settlement declined 63 cents or 0.98% to $63.50 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tech Mahindra rose 3.55%. The company reported a 6.07% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,122 crore on a 2.85% increase in net sales to Rs 14,393.2 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q2 FY26. However, as compared with Q3 FY25, the company's consolidated net profit jumped 14.12% while revenue grew 8.34%.

RBL Bank declined 7.06% to Rs 301.35 after the company reported a 28% rise in provisions (other than tax) and contingencies to Rs 639 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Rs 500 crore in Q3 FY25.

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