Equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Tuesday after a volatile trading session marked by sharp intraday swings, as global tariff concerns and profit booking in heavyweights overshadowed encouraging IT earnings and progress in India-US trade talks.

The BSE Sensex closed at 83,627.69, down 250.48 points or 0.30 per cent, while the NSE Nifty fell 57.95 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 25,732.30.

The session started on a positive note with the Sensex opening at 84,079.32 and the Nifty touching its 50-day exponential moving average resistance at 25,897.35.

However, selling pressure intensified as the day progressed, dragging the Nifty to an intraday low of 25,603 before a late recovery of over 150 points in the final hour helped trim losses.

Market participants turned cautious after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Iran, raising fresh concerns about broader trade tensions as China is Iran’s largest trading partner.

“Today, the Indian stock market ended lower, after starting the day on a positive note. The main reason for the market’s reversal was fresh global concern after Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran,” said Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza. “This negative global cue outweighed optimism around ongoing India US trade discussions.”

Among Nifty constituents, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) emerged as the top gainer, surging 3.30 per cent to ₹243.50, followed by Eternal Limited, which jumped 3.16 per cent to ₹294.25. ICICI Bank advanced 1.66 per cent to ₹1,436.50, while Hindalco Industries gained 1.61 per cent to ₹935 and Max Healthcare Institute rose 1.60 per cent to ₹1,029.90.

On the losing side, Trent led the decliners, plunging 3.71 per cent to ₹3,906, followed by Larsen & Toubro, which tumbled 3.21 per cent to ₹3,890. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories fell 2.27 per cent to ₹1,187.90, while InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) declined 1.99 per cent to ₹4,753.50 and Reliance Industries slipped 1.77 per cent to ₹1,456.90.

“Nifty Falls on Profit Booking, Showed Resilience with Late Bounce back. After a brief pullback session, Nifty resumed its downward trajectory, falling 57 points to close at 25,732,” said Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities. “The index opened 107 points higher, briefly touching its 50 DEMA resistance at 25,891 before reversing sharply.”

Sectoral performance remained mixed. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media outperformed, while Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Realty ended as top losers.

The Nifty Bank index gained 128.30 points or 0.22 per cent to close at 59,578.80, while Nifty Financial Services rose 67.50 points or 0.25 per cent to 27,586.

The broader market presented a contrasting picture, with Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.20 per cent to 59,597.80, while Nifty Smallcap 100 defied the trend with a 0.60 per cent gain to close at 17,295.80.

Market breadth remained weak for the fourth consecutive session. Of the 4,327 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,038 advanced while 2,099 declined and 190 remained unchanged.

Notably, 232 stocks hit 52-week lows compared to just 69 that touched 52-week highs, reflecting underlying weakness. Seven stocks ended in lower circuit, while none hit upper circuit. The NSE cash market turnover was lower by 3 per cent compared to the previous session.

“Markets remained volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended marginally lower amid mixed cues. After an initial uptick, the Nifty 50 drifted lower for most of the session, though a rebound in the final hour trimmed some losses,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP Research at Religare Broking Ltd. “Market action reflects the interplay between earnings-related reactions and global uncertainty.”

The Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar after finishing Monday’s session on a flat note, as regional currencies struggled.

“After finishing Monday’s session on a flat note, the Indian rupee depreciated against the greenback as regional currencies struggled. This decline was compounded by a rebound in crude oil and high metal prices, coupled with a cautious market environment,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. “Looking ahead, the USDINR pair has immediate support at 89.90 and resistance at 90.40.”

Gold prices traded in a highly volatile range, oscillating between ₹1,41,000-₹1,42,000 on MCX. “Market participants remain cautious ahead of the U.S.

CPI data due later this evening, a key input for the Fed’s upcoming policy decisions,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities. “In the near term, sharp swings are likely, with prices expected to fluctuate within a wider band of ₹1,38,000-₹1,44,500 over the next couple of sessions.”

Looking ahead, analysts expect volatility to persist as markets navigate earnings season and global uncertainties. “We maintain a cautious view on the Nifty and suggest continuing with a sell-on-rise approach until the index decisively reclaims the 26,000 level,” Mishra added.

Markets may stabilize as India-US trade talks progress, though geopolitical risks and foreign selling could keep volatility elevated in the near term.

Published on January 13, 2026

Private sector insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Tuesday reported a 19.82 per cent year-on-year jump in its standalone net profit to ₹390.20 crore in the third quarter this fiscal, backed by higher investment income from shareholders’ funds.

The insurer had registered a net profit of ₹325.65 crore in the third quarter last fiscal.

Its Value of New Business (VNB), present value of all future profits to shareholders measured at the time of writing of the new business contract, during the third quarter of FY26 rose to ₹615 crore from ₹517 crore in the corresponding period of FY25, registering an 18.96 per cent y-o-y increase.

During the period, investment income from shareholders’ accounts saw a 54.24 per cent y-o-y growth at ₹279.17 crore as against ₹181 crore in Q3FY25, according to a stock exchange filing.

During the period under review net premium income, however, fell 3.69 per cent y-o-y at ₹11809.26 crore compared to ₹12261.37 crore in the year-ago period.

The first-year premium increased 8.86 per cent y-o-y at ₹2081.13 crore, whereas renewal premium rose 5.9 per cent y-o-y to ₹6593.89 crore for the period under review.

Single premium, however, witnessed a decline of 21.56 per cent y-o-y to ₹3551 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year.

The insurance company’s Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) grew 3.57 per cent y-o-y at ₹2525 crore for the third quarter of FY26 compared to ₹2438 crore for the corresponding period of FY25.

The retail protection APE grew strongly by 40.8 per cent y-o-y from ₹147 crore in Q3FY25 to ₹207 crore in Q3FY26, in part aided by the implementation of recent GST reforms.

Consequently, the retail sum-assured also registered a strong growth of 51.6 per cent y-o-y in the same period, the life insurer said .The number of policies sold increased by 11.7 per cent year-on-year in the period.

During the third quarter this fiscal, the insurer’s expenses of management (EoM) rose to 19.3 per cent as against 16.4 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal, mostly due to the lack of input tax credit (ITC) in the new GST regime which came into effect from September 22, 2025.

The assets under management of the company grew by 6.5 per cent year-on-year from ₹3,104.14 billion at December 31, 2024, to ₹3,307.29 billion at December 31, 2025.

The life insurance company’s net profit increased from ₹803 crore for the first nine months of FY25 to ₹992 crore in the same period of FY26, a growth of 23.5 per cent y-o-y. During April-December, 2025, net premium earned increased by 4.1 per cent at ₹32156 crore from ₹30890 crore in the year-ago period.

VNB, which is the measure of profitability for a life insurance company, stood at ₹1664 crore with a margin of 24.4 per cent in 9MFY26.

Anup Bagchi, MD & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said the company’s 9MFY26 performance reflected its ongoing commitment to increasing profitability through balanced business growth.

“ The recent ‘0 per cent GST reform’ on individual policies has significantly aided this vision, with results clearly visible in the strong performance of our core retail protection segment. In Q3-FY2026, this segment registered a strong 40.8 per cent year-on-year growth. Consequently, the retail sum assured, i.e., the total life cover chosen by our retail customers, witnessed robust year-on-year growth of 51.6 per cent during the quarter,” he added.

On Tuesday, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s shares ended the day at ₹682.20 apiece on BSE, up 0.35 per cent from the previous close.

Published on January 13, 2026

India fell to third place among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December 2025 after Reliance Industries and state-owned refiners sharply cut crude oil imports, a European think tank said on Tuesday.

The total Russian hydrocarbon imports by India stood at 2.3 billion euros in December, down from 3.3 billion euros in the preceding month, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

“Turkiye displaced India as the second largest importer, purchasing Euro 2.6 billion of Russian hydrocarbons in December,” it said.

China remained the top buyer, accounting for 48 per cent (Euro 6 billion) of Russia’s export revenues from the top five importers.

“India was the third highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, importing a total of Euro 2.3 billion of Russian hydrocarbons in December,” CREA said.

“Crude oil constituted 78 per cent of India’s purchases, totalling Euro 1.8 billion. Coal (Euro 424 million) and oil products (Euro 82 million) constituted the remainder of India’s monthly imports.”

In November, India spent 2.6 billion euros on the purchase of Russian crude oil, which is processed in refineries to make fuels like petrol and diesel.

“India’s Russian crude imports recorded a sharp 29 per cent month-on-month reduction to the lowest volumes since the implementation of the price cap policy. These drops occurred despite total imports growing marginally,” CREA said without giving absolute numbers.

These cuts, it said, were led largely by the Jamnagar refinery of Reliance Industries, which reduced its imports from Russia by half in December.

“The entirety of their (Reliance’s) imports were supplied by (Russia’s) Rosneft, albeit from cargoes purchased before the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions came into effect,” it said. State-owned refineries also cut Russian imports by 15 per cent in December.

The US has imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of the largest oil producers in Russia, to cut off the Kremlin’s resources for funding the Ukraine war.

The sanctions have resulted in companies like Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd halting or cutting imports for now. However, other refiners like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) continue to buy from non-sanctioned Russian entities.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India dramatically increased Russian imports as sanctions and reduced European demand made the barrels available at steep discounts, pushing its share from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of total crude imports.

Russia supplied about 25 per cent of all crude oil that India imported in December, down from 35 per cent in the previous month.

“In December, five refineries in India, Turkiye and Brunei that use Russian crude exported Euro 943 million of oil products to sanctioning countries. The importers included the EU (Euro 436 million), USA (Euro 189 million), UK (Euro 34 million) and Australia (Euro 283 million). An estimated Euro 274 million of these products were refined from Russian crude,” CREA said.

There was a 9 per cent month-on-month reduction in the refineries’ exports to sanctioning countries. The decrease was led chiefly by the EU and UK, which recorded monthly reductions of 26 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively.

“In contrast to those two, exports to Australia (Euro 284 million) increased by 9 per cent in December. The biggest exporters to Australia were the Jamnagar refinery in India (Euro 132 million) and the Hengyi refinery in Brunei (Euro 116 million),” the think tank said.

“There was a 121 per cent increase in exports to the USA, totalling Euro 189 million. These exports originated in the Jamnagar refinery and the Tupras Aliaga refinery in Turkiye.”

China remained the largest global buyer of Russian fossil fuel, accounting for 48 per cent (Euro 6 billion) of export revenues from the top five importers. Crude oil made up 60 per cent (Euro 3.6 billion) of China’s purchases, followed by coal and pipeline gas.

Seaborne crude imports rose 23 per cent month-on-month, driven by higher ESPO-grade crude inflows, while Urals-grade imports increased 15 per cent, reaching the highest fourth-quarter volumes since Q2 2023.

The European Union ranked fourth among buyers, with Russian fossil fuel imports worth 1.3 billion euros, half of which was LNG. Hungary was the fourth-largest single-country buyer, while Saudi Arabia imported 328 million euros of Russian oil products, ranking fifth in December.

Published on January 13, 2026

India’s palm oil imports fell
to ‍an eight-month low in December, as refiners increased
purchases of ​rival oils such as soyoil and sunflower ‌oil amid
weaker seasonal demand during the ​winter months, a leading trade
body said on Tuesday.

Lower palm oil imports by India, the world’s largest buyer
of vegetable oils, could lift inventories in top producers
Indonesia and Malaysia, weighing on benchmark Malaysian palm oil
futures, while lending support to U.S. ​soyoil futures
.

India’s palm oil imports in December ⁠fell about 20% from the
previous month to 507,204 metric tons, he lowest since April
2025, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association ​of India
(SEA) said in ⁠a statement.

India imported an average of about 632,000 tons of palm oil
each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2025,
according to ‌SEA.

Imports of soyoil rose 36% to 505,112 ‌tons in December, the
highest in three months, and sunflower oil imports were up ‍about
145% to a 17-month high 349,929 tons, the SEA said.

Total vegetable oil imports rose 17% to ‍1.38 million tons,
the statement added.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and
imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia
and Ukraine.

“Palm oil demand was hit by seasonal slowdown during the
winter months,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade
house.

India’s palm oil imports typically moderate during ⁠the
winter months, as the tropical oil solidifies at lower
temperatures, limiting its use in northern ​parts of the country.

Palm oil’s discount to rival ⁠soyoil and sunflower oil has
widened in recent weeks, which is expected to push India’s
imports above 700,000 tons in January, the dealer said.

Soyoil and sunflower oil imports are likely to ⁠fall sharply
in January, he said.

Published on January 13, 2026