At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 495.46 points or 0.61% to 81,008.24. The Nifty 50 index slipped 209.60 points or 0.84% to 24,761.70.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.41% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.14%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,225 shares rose and 2,670 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Union Cabinet has approved an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 1 July 2024 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rate of 50% of the basic pay/pension, to compensate against price rise. This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be Rs.9,448.35 crore per annum. This will benefit about 49.18 lakh central government employees and 64.89 lakh pensioners.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 1.54% to 9,591.90. The index declined 3.43% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Jindal Steel & Power (down 4.34%), NMDC (down 3.85%), Adani Enterprises (down 2.78%), Vedanta (down 2.53%), JSW Steel (down 1.91%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 1.81%), Tata Steel (down 1.74%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.48%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.35%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 1%) edged lower.

On the other hand, National Aluminium Company (up 4.39%) ,Welspun Corp (up 0.61%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.14%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.77% to 6.893 as compared with previous close 6.885.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.0550, compared with its close of 84.0275 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2024 settlement rose 0.22% to Rs 76,834.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 103.63.

The United States 10-year bond yield gained 0.70% to 4.044.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2024 settlement added 26 cents or 0.35% to $74.48 a barrel.

Stocks in spotlight:

Nestle India slipped 3.37%. The FMCG major's standalone net profit rose 8.62% to Rs 986.36 crore on 1.33% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5,104 crore in Q2 FY25 over Q2 FY24.

Larsen & Toubro added 1.16% after company said that its hydrocarbon business (L&T Energy Hydrocarbon) has secured a 'significant' order under its AdVENT Business Vertical from a Government of India (GoI) undertaking. As per L&T's internal classification, the value of the aforementioned contract lies between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore.