Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened lower on Thursday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the quarterly results of IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Both benchmark indices — the Sensex and Nifty — slipped in early trade.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 76.99 points to 83,461.90. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty was down 23.15 points at 25,452.95.
Caution Ahead of Earnings Season
TCS is set to announce its Q1 earnings later in the day, officially kicking off the earnings season. Investors chose to wait and watch, leading to weak early trade. Experts believe the market may stay range-bound for now.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the market has been stuck in a narrow range for over a month. While global markets remain strong and foreign fund flows continue, he feels that only strong news—such as a trade deal between India and the US—can push the Nifty past 25,500. But even that news may not be enough to fuel a big rally.
Tariff News Adds to Uncertainty
Market mood was also affected by tariff-related worries. Though India is in talks with the US over a trade pact, it has not yet appeared in the list of countries facing new tariff threats from the US.
This uncertainty led to further hesitation among investors. According to Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities, markets are mainly reacting to two things: concerns over tariffs and the Q1 results of TCS.
Top Gainers and Losers
In early trade, Tata Motors, Infosys, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top losers on the Sensex. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance showed gains.
Mixed Global Signals
Global market trends were mixed. South Korea, Shanghai, and Hong Kong markets traded higher, but Japan’s Nikkei was in the red. In the US, markets ended Wednesday on a positive note.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 77 crore on Wednesday, which helped limit the downside.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell slightly by 0.06 percent to USD 70.15 per barrel.
With the earnings season starting today, market watchers expect more stock-specific moves in the coming days.
(With PTI Inputs)
