Sensex drops 133 pts; PSU bank shares slides
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 133.20 points or 0.16% to 82,500.30. The Nifty 50 index fell 32.20 points or 0.13% to 25,179.35.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.31%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,915 shares rose and 1,969 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, shed 0.46% to 11.19. The Nifty 31 July 2025 futures were trading at 25,232.30 at a premium of 52.95 points as compared with the spot at 25,179.35.
The Nifty option chain for the 31 July 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 53.8 lakh contracts at the 25,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 59.2 lakh contracts was seen at 25,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index shed 0.86% to 7,205.05. The index added 0.72% in the previous three trading sessions.
Union Bank of India (down 1.76%), Bank of India (down 1.46%), Canara Bank (down 1.26%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.24%), Bank of Baroda (down 1.08%), Indian Bank (down 1.04%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.79%), UCO Bank (down 0.18%) declined.
On the other hand, Central Bank of India (up 0.62%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.53%) and State Bank of India (up 0.35%) edged up.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.80%. The company has announced a price hike for Baleno and Ertiga models after adding six airbags as standard safety feature.
According to the automaker, the inclusion of additional airbags has led to a 1.4% rise in the ex-showroom price of the Ertiga, while the Baleno will see a more modest increase of 0.5%.
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