The headline equity benchmarks traded near the flatline with some negative points in early afternoon trade, amid ongoing escalating geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran. Further impacting sentiment was the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates, with the central bank projecting elevated inflation and slower economic growth ahead. Market direction will likely continue to be shaped by these geopolitical developments, with investors closely tracking crude oil prices and broader global events. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark. Media stocks slipped for the third straight trading session. At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 23.97 points or 0.04% to 81,412.43. The Nifty 50 index fell 6.25 points or 0.02% to 24,805.50. The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 1.19%. The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,034 shares rose and 2,750 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.13% to 14.52. The Nifty 26 Jun 2025 futures were trading at 24,828.10, at a premium of 22.6 points as compared with the spot at 24,805.50. The Nifty option chain for the 26 June 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 89.2 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 62.1 lakh contracts was seen at the 24,000 strike price. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Media index fell 0.96% to 1,685.10. The index slipped 2.92% in the three consecutive trading sessions. Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 2.91%), Tips Music (down 1%), Sun TV Network (down 0.99%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.89%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.87%), Saregama India (down 0.19%), D B Corp (down 0.04%) declined On the other hand, Dish TV India (up 1.89%) ,PVR Inox (up 0.79%) and Network 18 Media & Investments (up 0.25%) added. Stocks in Spotlight: Markolines Pavement Technologies gained 3.47% after the company announced that it has secured a maintenance contract worth Rs 18.88 crore from Varanasi-Aurangabad NH-2 Tollway. Tata Elxsi fell 2.18%. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Infineon Technologies to jointly develop application-ready EV solutions tailored to the Indian market. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |