Key Points:
- Sensex and Nifty decline amid profit-booking and FII outflows.
- Infosys reports better-than-expected Q1 results but narrows FY guidance.
- India-UK FTA to boost trade and improve long-term market sentiment.
Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened on a positive note but soon reversed course on Thursday, dragged lower by profit-taking in blue-chip stocks and persistent foreign fund outflows. The BSE Sensex slipped 130.92 points to 82,595.72, while the NSE Nifty shed 23 points to trade at 25,196.90 in early deals.
This pullback follows a strong performance on Wednesday when the Sensex surged over 530 points and Nifty rose by 159 points, buoyed by optimism in global and domestic cues.
Blue-Chips Drag, Select Stocks Resist Fall
Several heavyweight stocks contributed to Thursday’s weakness. Among the top laggards on the Sensex were Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys, and Axis Bank.
Conversely, Tata Motors, Eternal, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel managed to buck the trend and traded in the green, supported by sector-specific tailwinds.
Infosys Q1 Beats Expectations
IT major Infosys reported an 8.7% rise in net profit for the June quarter, beating market expectations. However, it narrowed its full-year revenue forecast, citing global macro uncertainties. While the broader IT index remained under pressure, Infosys’s strong quarterly performance could lend some support going forward.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted, "Good Q1 numbers from Infosys can provide support to the weak IT index."
Foreign Outflows Continue Despite DII Support
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to offload equities, selling shares worth Rs 4,209.11 crore on Wednesday. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) stepped in, purchasing equities worth Rs 4,358.52 crore, slightly balancing the market sentiment.
Global Markets Supportive, India-UK FTA in Focus
Asian markets traded mostly higher, with indices in Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong all showing gains. U.S. markets also closed higher overnight, driven by robust corporate earnings.
Adding to positive long-term sentiment, India and the UK are set to sign a free trade agreement in London. The pact aims to double bilateral trade to USD 120 billion by 2030 and will benefit Indian exports of labour-intensive goods while reducing tariffs on UK imports like whisky and cars.
(With PTI Inputs)
