Indices trade with limited losses; auto shares drop

The frontline indices traded with moderate losses in early-afternoon trade as market sentiment was weighed down by US President Donald Trump's decision to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting today, along with Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The Nifty traded below the 22,100 level. Auto shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 162.28 points or 0.22% to 72,923.66. The Nifty 50 index lost 47 points or 0.21% to 22,072.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.01%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.98%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,183 shares rose and 1,605 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.21% to 13.73. The Nifty 27 March 2025 futures were trading at 22,175.80, at a premium of 103.5 points as compared with the spot at 22,072.30.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 March 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 60.2 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 61.1 lakh contracts was seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.22% to 20,287.05. The index rose 0.19% in the past trading session.

Balkrishna Industries (down 3.78%), Bajaj Auto (down 3.24%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.22%), Apollo Tyres (down 1.63%), MRF (down 1.31%), Eicher Motors (down 1.25%), Bosch (down 1.09%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.09%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.98%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.89%) declined.

On the other hand, Tata Motors (up 0.37%) and Exide Industries (up 0.16%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wendt (India) slipped 3%. The company announced that its board has approved a proposal to incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) in Germany, aiming to enhance its business prospects in Europe.

Oriental Rail Infrastructure rose 0.80%. The company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 1.63 crore from Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Indian Railways.

RateGain Travel Technologies added 1.56% after the company announced a significant partnership with Mews, a leading provider of hospitality cloud solutions and Property Management Systems (PMS).