The equity benchmarks edged lower and hit the day's low in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading below the 17,400 mark. Metal stocks were in demand for the third consecutive session. 

At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 126.89 points or 0.22% to 58,334.40. The Nifty 50 index lost 26.65 points or 0.15% to 17,375. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.60% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.94%. 

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2066 shares rose and 1050 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged. 

Economy: 

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index stood at 58.1 in November, down only fractionally from 58.4 in October, pointing to the second-fastest rise in output since July 2011. According to monitored companies, the upturn reflected sustained increases in new work and ongoing improvements in market conditions. 

Derivatives: 

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.28% to 17.68. The Nifty 30 December 2021 futures were trading at 17,399.75, at a premium of 41.65 point as compared with the spot at 17,375. 

The Nifty option chain for 30 December 2021 expiry showed maximum Call open interest (OI) of 33.4 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 52.5 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike price. 

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.44% to 5,429.10, extending gains for the third day. The index has added 4.37% in three sessions. 

Hindustan Zinc up 3.05%,NMDC up 2.82%, Jindal Steel & Power up 2.39%, National Aluminum Co. up 1.42%, Tata Steel up 1.07%, Vedanta up 0.89%, SAIL up 0.72% and JSW Steel up 0.67% advanced. 

Concurrently, Ratnamani Metals Tubes (down 2.61%), Welspun Corp (down 1.18%), Adani Enterprises (down 0.92%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.65%) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.61%) declined. 

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 1.51% to Rs 1816.05. The company said that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Kemroc that will facilitate Kemroc products to be distributed and promoted in the Indian market by L&T. Kemroc is a global manufacturer of attachments for excavators and backhoe loaders. 

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) added 1.25% to Rs 145.75. The company announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for undertaking renewable energy projects including solar, wind, solar parks, EV value chain, green hydrogen, storage, etc. 

Biocon was down 0.05% to Rs 367.05. The company said that its subsidiary Biocon Pharma has received approval of its ANDA for mycophenolic acid from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). The product is indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a kidney transplant.