At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 90.60 points or 0.12% to 81,612.02. The Nifty 50 index added 43.65 points or 0.18% to 24,653.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.18% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.30%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,175 shares rose and 1,698 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 2.73% to 13.40. The Nifty 26 December 2024 futures were trading at 24,769.70, at a premium of 116 points as compared with the spot at 24,653.70.

The Nifty option chain for the 26 December 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 53.7 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 71.3 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.51% to 23,887.65. The index added 0.47% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Hero MotoCorp (up 1.04%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.93%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.87%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.76%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.75%), Exide Industries (up 0.52%), Bosch (up 0.51%), Tata Motors (up 0.47%), Balkrishna Industries (up 0.34%) and Samvardhana Motherson International (up 0.19%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) shed 0.51%. The company informed that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on 10 December 2024 for capacity building programmes.

Poonawalla Fincorp rose 1.84% after the company’s nomination and remuneration committee, had approved the appointment of Salil Hajarnis as the chief technology officer (CTO) of the company.

Bharat Global Developers (BGDL) hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company announced that it’s Agro Division has secured a prestigious annual supply contract worth Rs 650 crore with TATA Agro & Consumer Products.