Indices trade lower amid weak global cues; oil & gas shares drop

The key equity benchmarks traded with signiant losses in early afternoon trade, amid negative global cues, following the breakdown of U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations and a spike in crude oil prices, which heightened fears of an extended Middle East conflict. The Nifty traded below the 23,850 mark.

Oil & gas shares tumbled after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 850.50 points or 1.10% to 76,699.75. The Nifty 50 index declined 239.80 points or 0.99% to 23,811.35.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.61% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.20%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,792 shares rose and 2,386 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 9.77% to 20.69.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2026 settlement rose $6.33 or 6.65% to $101.53 a barrel.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 8.97% to 20.54. The Nifty 28 April 2026 futures were trading at 23,850, at a premium of 38.65 points as compared with the spot at 23,811.35.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 April 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 44.2 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. A maximum put OI of 50.7 lakh contracts was seen at the 23,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil& Gas index declined 1.56% to 11,019.05. The index rose 0.91% in the past trading session.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 3.88%), Reliance Industries (down 2.42%), Aegis Logistics (down 2.18%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 2.12%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.09%), Petronet LNG (down 2.07%), Chennai Petroleum Corporation (down 1.88%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 1.27%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 0.59%) and Castrol India (down 0.18%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Jash Engineering rose 0.32%. The company announced that it has reported revenue of Rs 736 crore in FY26 remained largely flat compared to the consolidated audited revenue of Rs 735 crore recorded in FY25.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure declined 1.16%. The company said that it has secured an order from Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, under Indian Railways, for the manufacturing, supply, and installation of 25 sets of seats and berths for LHB coaches.

Piramal Pharma rose 0.17%. The company said that the USFDA has issued an establishment inspection report (EIR) for the company?s manufacturing facility located at Kentucky, USA, with VAI (voluntary action indicated). The USFDA conducted a general good manufacturing practices (GMP) inspection of Piramal Pharma?s Lexington (Kentucky, USA) facility from 03 December 2025 to 10 December 2025.At the conclusion of the inspection, the USFDA issued a Form-483, with four observations.