The key equity benchmarks pared all gains and traded with minor losses in morning trade amid persistent FII selling. The Nifty traded below the 26,050 mark after touching day’s high of 26,106.80 in early trade.

Metal stocks soared for eight consecutive trading sessions.

At 10:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 46.97 points or 0.06% to 84,994.48. The Nifty 50 index fell 4.55 points or 0.02% to 26,037.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.11%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,638 shares rose and 2,178 shares fell. A total of 240 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index jumped 1.38% to 10,954.90. The index rallied 4.69% for the eight straight trading sessions.

Hindustan Copper (up 8.44%), Steel Authority of India (up 4.1%), Tata Steel (up 2.24%), Vedanta (up 2.15%), Jindal Steel (up 1.71%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.67%), Welspun Corp (up 1.39%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 1.32%), JSW Steel (up 1%) and APL Apollo Tubes (up 0.71%) surged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

VA Tech Wabag shed 0.83%. The company has received a letter of award from the Saudi Water Authority for a large repeat EPC order to build a 50 MLD advanced BWRO plant at Aljouf, Saudi Arabia.

JD Cables declined 1.42%. The company announced that it has secured orders worth Rs 8.81 crore from reputed EPC contractors for cable supply operations in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Solarworld Energy Solutions surged 9.10% the company announced that it has received a letter of award for the EPC package for the development of a 250 MWac grid-connected solar PV project worth Rs 725.33 crore from NTPC Renewable Energy.