At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 80 points or 0.10% to 78,074.68. The Nifty 50 index rose 17.60 points or 0.07% to 23,675.95.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.24% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.71%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,986 shares rose and 1,068 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.98% to 13.84. The Nifty 27 March 2025 futures were trading at 23,720.10, at a premium of 44.15 points as compared with the spot at 23,675.95.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 March 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 131.7 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 130 lakh contracts was seen at 23,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index rose 0.07% to 25,862.15. The index jumped 7.95% in the seventh consecutive trading session.

HDFC Bank (up 2.14%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.61%), Bandhan Bank (up 0.45%), and Axis Bank (up 0.31%) advanced.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank (down 4.88%), IDFC First Bank (down 1.21%), and ICICI Bank (down 0.9%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajel Projects advanced 1.56% after the company announced that it had secured a large EPC order from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation (MPPTCL).

Dev Information Technology added 1.21% after the company announced that it has secured a noteworthy order from the Media Informatics division of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) worth Rs 86 lakhs.

Kalpataru Projects International rallied 2.86% after the company and its international subsidiaries secured new orders worth Rs 2,366 crore.

Punjab & Sind Bank jumped 6.70% after the company said that its board approved the issue of qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares with the floor price of Rs 40.38 per equity share.