At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 214.56 points or 0.26% to 81,311.98. The Nifty 50 index fell 79.95 points or 0.32% to 24,561.85.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.65% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.98%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,376 shares rose and 2,492 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.26% to 13.30. The Nifty 26 December 2024 futures were trading at 24,645, at a premium of 83.15 points as compared with the spot at 24,561.85

The Nifty option chain for the 26 December 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 53.6 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 67.6 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index slipped 0.88% to 23,640.80. The index added 0.41% in the past trading sessions.

Hero MotoCorp (down 1.73%), Tata Motors (down 1.40%), Bharat Forge (down 1.33%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.14%), TVS Motor Company (down 1.08%), Exide Industries (down 0.92%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.60%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 0.49%), MRF (down 0.42%) and Balkrishna Industries (down 0.35%) slipped.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Afcons Infrastructure added 0.07%. The company announced that its joint venture (JV) Afcons-Hindustan has declared the lowest bidder (L1) for water supply project worth Rs 503.85 crore under the government’s Jal Jeevan Mission.

Sammaan Capital slipped 2.44%. The company informed that its board approved the raising of funds, through issue of equity shares, up to an aggregate amount of Rs 2,500 crore through one or more qualified institutions placements (QIP).