The Nifty traded below the 23,950 mark. Metal shares declined for the second consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 1,747.60 points or 2.22% to 77,170.81. The Nifty 50 index fell 548.65 points or 2.21% to 23,907.35.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index tumbled 2.54% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slumped 2.98%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 765 shares rose and 3,514 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, soared 21.35% to 24.13.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 3.03% to 11,637.00. The index dropped 3.42% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Jindal Stainless (down 5.35%), Hindustan Copper (down 4.1%), Tata Steel (down 4.01%), Steel Authority of India (down 3.96%), Welspun Corp (down 3.81%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 3.34%), Jindal Steel (down 3.29%), JSW Steel (down 3.06%), Adani Enterprises (down 2.93%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 2.85%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper added 0.82% to 6.743 compared with previous session close of 6.688.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 92.3250 compared with its close of 91.8200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement fell 0.78% to Rs 160,380.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.56% to 99.530

The United States 10-year bond yield jumped 1.40% to 4.191.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 settlement surged 14.17 cents or 15.29% to $106.86 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GAIL (India) dropped 5.40%. The company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RailTel Corporation of India to collaborate in key areas of digital infrastructure development in the country.

Kernex Microsystems (India) slipped 5.92%. The company said that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Bharat Heavy Engineering to develop advanced railway signalling and train control technologies.

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