At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 230.70 points or 0.28% to 81,295.44. The Nifty 50 index fell 89.15 points or 0.36% to 24,552.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.57% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.87%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,406 shares rose and 2,511 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.

Gainer & Losers:

Adani Enterprises (up 2.73%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (up 2.01%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.70%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.54%) and Bharti Airtel (up 0.99%) were the major Nifty gainers.

NTPC (down 3.21%), Hindustan Unilever (down 2.59%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.29%), Tata Consumer Products (down 1.98%) and Britannia Industries (down 1.64%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Power jumped 4.43%. The company's arm won a 930 MW solar energy contract with battery energy storage system project (BESS) from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in a reverse e-auction.

Waaree Energies advanced 4.51% after its wholly owned subsidiary, Waaree Forever Energies, received a Letter of Award for the development of a 170 MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMSL).

Vedanta added 1.21% after the company said that its board will meet on 16 December 2024 to consider a proposal for a fourth interim dividend on equity shares for the financial year 2024-25.

Gland Pharma rose 0.69% after the pharmaco received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Phytonadione Injectable Emulsion USP, 10 mg/mL single dose ampules.

Global Markets:

European shares advanced and Most Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday after US equities rallied on Wednesday following benign inflation data. This fueled expectations of a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut this month.

In Asia, key economic reports are due today: Australia's labor market data and India's inflation and industrial production figures. China's Central Economic Work Conference is also underway, where policymakers are expected to outline next year's economic policies, likely including stimulus measures.

US markets surged on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite hitting a record high. Tech stocks, particularly Tesla and NVIDIA, rallied sharply on the prospect of lower interest rates and the potential easing of regulatory scrutiny. Artificial intelligence optimism also contributed to the gains.

The NASDAQ Composite surged 1.8% to a record high of 20,033.61 points, while the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,084.19 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 0.2% to 44,148.56 points.

The US consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.7% last month, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in October. While stripping out more volatile items like food and fuel, the "core" number climbed by 3.3% in the twelve months to July, also in line with expectations.