Barometers nudge lower; VIX rallies 3.39% in early trade

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early trade, as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the US-India trade deal. Market sentiment was further dampened by Kotak Mahindra Bank, which weighed on the indices following its disappointing quarterly earnings. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark.

Realty, private bank and IT shares declined while auto, oil & gas and PSU bank stocks advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 207.18 points or 0.25% to 81,255.91. The Nifty 50 index lost 11.65 points or 0.05% to 24,824.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.14% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.10%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE 1,474 shares rose and 1,545 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.39% to 11.66.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,979.96 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,138.59 crore in the Indian equity market on 25 July 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Kotak Mahindra Bank tumbled 6.68% after the bank reported a 7% drop in standalone net profit to Rs 3,282 crore in Q1 FY26 as against Rs 3,520 crore posted in Q1 FY25. However, total income rose 7.91% year on year (YoY) to Rs 16,916.52 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2025.

Petronet LNG added 1.51%. The company has reported a 25.5% drop in standalone net profit to Rs 850.58 crore on a 11.4% fall in net sales to Rs 11,879.86 crore in Q1 FY26 as compared with Q1 FY25.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies has dropped 5.72%. The company reported a 1.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 14.27 crore on a 11.5% rise in net sales to Rs 93.19 crore in Q1 FY26 as compared with Q1 FY25.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.08% to 6.348 from the previous close of 6.353.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.4425 compared with its close of 86.5200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement rose 0.11% to Rs 97,926.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.04% to 96.35.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.16% to 4.393.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2025 settlement gained 24 cents or 0.35% to $68.68 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday as investors awaited further details on upcoming U.S.-China trade talks, set to begin later in the day in Stockholm.

The talks?led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng?are expected to cover a broader range of topics, and Bessent anticipates an extension of the current trade truce between the world?s two largest economies.

A trade deal between the U.S. and EU boosted market sentiment and offered some clarity ahead of major policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan later in the week.

One could expect more trade deals to be announced this week as nations race to conclude trade agreements with the US, before the August 1 deadline that has been self-imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Wall Street, all three major averages finished in positive territory on Friday and posted gains for the weekly period.

The S&P 500 ended the session 0.40% higher, closing at 6,388.64, while the Nasdaq Composite finished the day up 0.24% to reach 21,108.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 208.01 points, or 0.47%, to settle at 44,901.92.

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