:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The key equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a tad below the 25,300 level. IT stocks extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 357.87 points or 0.43% to 82,208.50. The Nifty 50 index dropped 119.60 points or 0.49% to 25,295.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE 150 Mid-Cap index fell 0.16% and the S&P BSE 250 Small-Cap index added 1.02%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,304 shares rose and 1,688 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 3.68% to 13.86. The Nifty 24 February 2026 futures were trading at 25,397.20, at a premium of 101.95 points as compared with the spot at 25,295.25.

The Nifty option chain for the 24 February 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 49.4 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 53.1 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index fell 1.22% to 37,962.45. The index dropped 1.97% in the two consecutive trading sessions.

Infosys (down 2.08%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.44%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.43%), Wipro (down 1.36%), HCL Technologies (down 1.34%), Coforge (down 0.92%), Mphasis (down 0.92%), LTIMindtree (down 0.63%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.55%) and Persistent Systems (down 0.42%) tumbled.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Nippon Life India Asset Management added 3.91% after its consolidated net profit jumped 36.74% to Rs 403.90 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Rs 295.36 crore in Q3 FY25. Total income jumped 29.38% to Rs 780.55 crore in the third quarter of FY26, as against Rs 603.30 crore posted in Q3 FY25.

Blue Star rose 3.97%. The company reported 39.2% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 80.55 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 132.46 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations increased by 4.2% to Rs 2,925.31 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, as compared to Rs 2807.36 crore during the same period in the previous year.