At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 605.97 points or 0.78% to 76,949.48. The Nifty 50 index fell 134.85 points or 0.56% to 23,862.50.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.54% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rallied 0.78%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,508 shares rose and 1,544 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 1.78% to 20.05. The Nifty 28 April 2026 futures were trading at 23,962, at a discount of 99.5 points as compared with the spot at 23,862.50.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 April 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 46 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. A maximum put OI of 46.6 lakh contracts was seen at the 23,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index fell 1.10% to 26,432.90. The index surged 10.36% over the past five trading sessions.

HDFC Bank (down 1.74%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.33%), ICICI Bank (down 1.25%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.13%), RBL Bank (down 0.99%), Axis Bank (down 0.32%), IDFC First Bank (down 0.17%), and Federal Bank (down 0.07%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NTPC rose 2.34% after the company announced that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 'lectricit' de France (EDF) to explore cooperation in developing new nuclear power projects in India.

Innovision rose 0.13%. The company said that it has secured a domestic contract from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for toll collection and facility maintenance at the Vanagaram Fee Plaza (Chennai Bypass Phase-I, km 0.000 to km 19.170).