:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The headline equity indices traded with substantial gains in the early afternoon trade, with the Sensex and Nifty extending the previous session's Fed-fuelled relief rally after a three-day slide. Market sentiment remained constructive ahead of key domestic inflation data due later in the day.

The Nifty traded above the 26,000 level. Oil & gas shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 420.22 points or 0.49% to 85,235.24. The Nifty 50 index added 124.40 points or 0.48% to 26,022.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.74% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.47%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,412 shares rose and 1,534 shares fell. A total of 208 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 3.07% to 10.08. The Nifty 30 December 2025 futures were trading at 26,106, at a premium of 83.20 points as compared with the spot at 26,022.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 December 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 71.5 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 73 lakh contracts was seen at 26,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index jumped 0.72% to 11,881.10. The index shed 0.03% in the past consecutive trading session.

Aegis Logistics (up 3.60%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.25%), Gujarat State Petronet (up 2.09%), Indraprastha Gas (up 1.16%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 0.99%), Adani Total Gas (up 0.84%), Reliance Industries (up 0.79%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.75%), GAIL (India) (up 0.62%) and Gujarat Gas (up 0.60%) advanced.

On the other hand, Petronet LNG (down 0.68%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 0.46%) and Oil India (down 0.35%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta advanced 2.27% after the company announced that it has been declared the successful bidder for the Genjana Nickel, Chromium and PGE Block.

RailTel Corporation of India shed 0.50%. The company said it has secured an order worth Rs 35.44 crore from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for providing a comprehensive communication solution with redundancy for the Disaster Management Department.