The Indian benchmark indices opened on a tepid note, after tracking mixed but mostly positive global cues, while investors remained cautious ahead of the Q2 results of many companies. The BSE Sensex was up by 150 points, or 0.18%, at 81,939.20, whereas the NSE Nifty50 rose by 0.17%, to 25,119.30, at the time of reporting. 

Coal India shares led the charge in the morning trade, rising by 1.27%, with shares trading at ₹386.75 apiece. The company, in an exchange filing, announced that it has executed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation for collaboration in the exploration and exploitation of critical minerals, as well as other minerals of mutual interest. ONGC and Power Grid also followed suit, each rising by nearly a per cent. 

Eternal led the BSE bourses, rising by 1.45%, followed by Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank, advancing between 1.25% and 1.40%. 

On the other hand, Trent emerged as a top laggard in today’s trade, declining by 2.42%, continuing its fall since yesterday, after the company posted its Q2 results. It reported standalone revenue at ₹5,002 crore for Q2FY26, increasing by 17% year-on-year (YoY) from Q2 FY25's ₹4,260 crore revenue. As of September 30, the store portfolio included 261 Westside, 806 Zudio (including 3 in the UAE), and 34 stores across other lifestyle concepts. 

Among sectoral indices, all except Nifty Healthcare, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty MidSmall Healthcare were trading in the green. Nifty Oil and Gas was the top performer, advancing 0.8% as crude oil and Brent oil prices rose by 1%. Nifty Energy also rose by 0.80%. Nifty IT continued its winning streak, rebounding from earlier losses due to concerns around H-1B visas. 

Broader markets were in the green in today’s trade for another consecutive session, with Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 50 rising by 0.43% and 0.73%, respectively. On the flip side, the India VIX, the yardstick for calculating investor sentiment, rose by 2.20%, to 10.42.