The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,850 mark. IT shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session. At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 124.10 points or 0.15% to 84,683.75. The Nifty 50 index added 65.45 points or 0.25% to 25,879.50. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.12% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.21%. The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,645 shares rose and 2,281 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.37% to 9.70. The Nifty 30 December 2025 futures were trading at 25,953.10, at a premium of 73.6 points as compared with the spot at 25,879.50. The Nifty option chain for the 30 December 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 83.8 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 77.1 lakh contracts was seen at the 26,000 strike price. Buzzing Index: The Nifty IT index rose 0.99% to 38,548.15. The index added 1.28% in the two consecutive trading sessions. Infosys (up 1.33%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.31%), Mphasis (up 1.04%), Wipro (up 0.98%), Persistent Systems (up 0.72%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.7%), HCL Technologies (up 0.3%) and Coforge (up 0.29%) rose. Stocks in Spotlight: Patel Engineering surged 1.75% after it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh for the restoration and development of the 144 MW Gongri Hydropower Project in West Kameng District. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries declined 2.96% after the company announced that the US FDA, post an audit, has determined the Baska facility inspection classification as Official Action Indicated (OAI). Powered by Capital Market - Live News |