Nifty below 26,000 level; realty shares slides; VIX jumps 5.87%

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with major losses in morning trade amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon have heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The Nifty traded below the 26,000 level. Realty shares extended losses for the two consecutive trading sessions.

Investors are also eyeing a busy week of US economic data, culminating in the November jobs report, which could heavilty influence the Fed's decision on interest rate cuts.

At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 685.75 points or 0.81% to 84,865.54. The Nifty 50 index slipped 192.05 points or 0.76% to 25,986.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.28%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,372 shares rose and 2,009 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.87% to 12.67.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves climbed for the sixth consecutive week to a record high of $692.3 billion as of September 20, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday (September 27).

The reserves increased by $2.84 billion during the week, following a total rise of $19.3 billion over the previous five weeks.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, rose to $605.7 billion from $603.6 billion in the previous week.

Gold reserves increased, climbing to $63.6 billion from $62.9 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) stood at $18.5 billion, up from $18.4 billion.

Meanwhile the reserve tranche position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell slightly to $4.46 billion from $4.52 billion.

New Listing :

Shares of Manba Finance were currently trading at Rs 155 at 10:09 IST on the BSE, representing a premium of 29.17% as compared with the issue price of Rs 120.

The scrip was listed at Rs 150, exhibiting a premium of 25% to the issue price.

So far, the stock has hit a high of 157.45 and a low of 144. On the BSE, over 7.41 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter so far.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index fell 1.72% to 1,098.60. The index declined 2.89% in the two consecutive trading sessions.

Phoenix Mills (down 4.31%), Macrotech Developers (down 1.61%), Raymond (down 1.52%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.48%), Godrej Properties (down 1.16%), Brigade Enterprises (down 1.1%), Sobha (down 0.9%), DLF (down 0.18%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Steel Industries zoomed 13% after the company announced that its board will meet on Thursday, 03 October 2024, to consider the proposal for issuance of bonus shares to the shareholders of the company.

Adani Energy Solutions rose 0.32%. The company has signed a business transfer agreement with its subsidiary, North Maharashtra Power to carve out the Adani Dahanu Thermal Power Station. Adani Electricity Mumbai is a subsidiary of the company.