The domestic equity benchmarks ended with modest losses today for a second straight session as investors weighed the risks of fresh U.S. tariffs against a steady stream of quarterly business updates that continued to support hopes of an earnings recovery.

The Nifty settled below the 26,200 level. Oil & gas, media and realty shares declined while pharma, IT and PSU bank shares advanced.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 376.28 points or 0.44% to 85,063.34. The Nifty 50 index dropped 71.60 points or 0.27% to 26,178.70. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex declined 0.81% while the Nifty fell 0.56%.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.24% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.39%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,668 shares rose and 2,511 shares fell. A total of 189 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's services sector growth slowed in December, with HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index easing to 58 from 59.8 in November, marking the weakest expansion since January while still indicating solid growth. The Composite PMI Output Index also softened to 57.8 in November but remained well above its long-run average, pointing to continued overall economic expansion at a moderated pace.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index declined 1.75% to 12,000.60. The index declined 2.51% in the two consecutive trading session.

Reliance Industries (down 4.54%), Mahanagar Gas (down 4.29%), GAIL (India) (down 2.34%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 2.06%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 1.84%), Adani Total Gas (down 1.19%), Castrol India (down 0.65%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 0.64%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.56%) and Gujarat Gas (down 0.54%) declined.

On the other hand, Petronet LNG (up 2.31%), Aegis Logistics (up 1.84%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 1.62%) added.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GM Breweries fell 5.20%. The company reported a 91.22% surge in standalone net profit of Rs 42.01 crore in Q3 FY26, compared to Rs 21.97 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) increased 21.89% YoY to Rs 202.14 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2025.

Dabur India fell 0.05%. The company said that it expects consolidated revenue to grow in the mid-single digits with operating profit and Profit after Tax to grow ahead of revenue in Q3 FY26. During the quarter, early signs of demand recovery were witnessed, aided by GST rate revisions. Post trade stabilization, consumer sentiment improved in urban and rural areas. Rural demand continued to outperform urban demand this quarter as well.

KSH International rallied 3.16% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 129.02% to Rs 29.59 crore on a 50.73% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 712.14 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

MOIL added 3.44% after the company said that it has achieved a record manganese ore production of 4.77 lakh tonnes in Q3 FY26, registering a growth of about 3.7% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY).

Dev Information Technology rose 1.78% after the company announced that it had secured an order worth about Rs 26 lakh from Core Technologies.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (PV) declined 1.30% after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)'s Q3 volumes were impacted by a cyber-incident and US tariffs, leading to sharp year-on-year and sequential declines in both wholesale and retail sales.

IndusInd Bank rose 2%. The bank reported a 3.8% decline in deposits to Rs 3,94,022 crore as of 31st December 2025 compared with Rs 4,09,438 crore as of 31st December 2024.

LG Electronics India advanced 1.66% after the company signed Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), leading to a reduction in its net tax exposure.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 103 points, indicating a weak opening for U.S. stocks.

European shares traded higher on Tuesday as investors track geopolitical developments following the U.S.′ ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

France's harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, stood at 0.7% year-on-year in December, slightly below the expected 0.8%.

Asia-Pacific markets ended higher, building on a record-breaking rally in global stocks as investors continued to assess ongoing geopolitical tensions following the U.S. attack on Venezuela and capture of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. big oil got a boost from the country's military raid at the weekend that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Crude oil eased back after rising $1 a barrel overnight as traders assessed the possible impact on crude flows from Venezuela, home to the world's largest oil reserves.

Overall, however, the events had a limited effect on risk sentiment, with equities driven more by momentum and currencies focused on macroeconomic data.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would put Venezuela under temporary American control and that he could order another strike if the South American nation does not cooperate with U.S. efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug trafficking. He also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico.

Trump plans to meet with executives from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, media reports stated.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks rose even after the U.S. attack on Venezuela, as crude oil prices advanced and investors bet the action would not lead to broader geopolitical conflict.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 594.79 points, or 1.23%, to close at 48,977.18. The 30-stock index also hit a new all-time high in the session. The S&P 500 advanced 0.64% and ended at 6,902.05. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.69%, settling at 23,395.82.

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