| The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 26,000 level. Media shares declined after advancing in the past trading session. At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 118.53 points or 0.14% to 85,225.34. The Nifty 50 index rose 38.35 points or 0.15% to 26,024.20. The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%. The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,471 shares rose and 2,426 shares fell. A total of 209 shares were unchanged. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.51% to 11.04. The Nifty 30 December 2025 futures were trading at 26,150, at a premium of 125.8 points as compared with the spot at 26,024.20. The Nifty option chain for the 30 December 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 70 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 78.7 lakh contracts was seen at 26,000 strike price. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Media index fell 1.25% to 1,444.30. The index rose 0.25% in the past trading session. PVR Inox (down 2.63%), Tips Music (down 1.86%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 1.75%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 0.85%), D B Corp (down 0.79%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.37%), Sun TV Network (down 0.21%), and Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.15%) fell. Stocks in Spotlight: Petronet LNG climbed 4.09% after the company announced a long-term agreement with ONGC for developing and operating ethane import and handling infrastructure at Dahej. Josts Engineering company rose 3.32% after the company announced that it has bagged an order worth Rs 5.62 crore from the North Bihar Power Distribution Company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |