PACE: Brokerage Services, Live Market Updates and Financial Advisory

Market Commentary - Mid-Session
16-Jan-2026 14:29

Barometers trade with moderate gains; private bank shares advance

The domestic equity indices traded with small gains in mid-afternoon trade, supported by a rally in IT stocks after Infosys reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue growth guidance. Meanwhile, in the Maharashtra elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party'Shiv Sena alliance was leading in early trends, boosting investor sentiment as markets typically view political stability and continuity in governance as positive for economic and policy outlook. The Nifty traded above the 25,650 mark.

Private bank shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 198.87 points or 0.24% to 83,581.58. The Nifty 50 index added 30 points or 0.11% to 25,695.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.36%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,870 shares rose and 2,296 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.

Maharashtra elections result 2026 updates:

The Maharashtra civic body poll results indicated a favourable trend for the Bharatiya Janata Party'Shiv Sena alliance, according to early trends as votes were being counted for elections to 29 civic bodies. As of 2:15 pm, the BJP was leading in 1,014 wards, while its ally Shiv Sena was ahead in 290 wards.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index rose 0.54% to 28,716.90. The index shed 0.03% in the past trading session.

Nifty Private Bank index, Federal Bank (up 8.22%), RBL Bank (up 4.18%), Yes Bank (up 1.83%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.71%), HDFC Bank (up 0.64%) and IDFC First Bank (up 0.46%) advanced.

On the other hand, Bandhan Bank (down 1.25%), Axis Bank (down 0.47%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.20%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.24% to 6.663 compared with previous session close of 6.647.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.7600 compared with its close of 90.3400 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2026 settlement declined 0.07% to Rs 143,015.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% to 99.09.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.26% to 4.172.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2026 settlement gained 9 cents or 0.14% to $63.85 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers rallied 5.39% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 71.77% to Rs 37 crore on 21.45% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 248.20 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Nelco tanked 3.46% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1.19 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with a net profit of Rs 4.95 crore in Q3 FY25. Total income declined 4.08% YoY to Rs 78.88 crore in Q3 FY26, from Rs 82.24 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.