Mumbai: India’s major stock indices began trading flat on Friday, pausing after a strong rally in the previous sessions. The Nifty 50 slipped 0.15% to 25,546.85, while the BSE Sensex dropped 0.16% to 83,331.3 as of mid-morning. Market observers attributed the subdued opening to profit-booking and sector-specific rotations, particularly in the IT space.
Shares of leading IT firms Infosys and Wipro weighed on the benchmarks despite surpassing revenue expectations for the September quarter. Wipro fell 4.5% amid analyst concerns over margin pressures resulting from ongoing deal ramp-ups and recent acquisitions, while Infosys declined 1.5% as its higher revenue was offset by lower-than-expected margins. Analysts at Jefferies noted a modest 3% earnings-per-share CAGR and a 3% dividend yield over fiscal years 2026–2028, making the risk-reward scenario less attractive. CLSA described Infosys’s fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of 2–3% as conservative, while UBS called the Q2 results “a mixed bag.”
While IT stocks dragged the market, gains in other sectors offered partial support. The broader small-cap and mid-cap indices fell 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, while some energy and consumer-related stocks provided modest upward momentum. Overall, 10 out of 16 sectoral indices recorded losses at the open.
Despite the cautious start, both the Nifty and Sensex remain under 3% below their record highs from September 2024, driven by optimism over potential domestic and U.S. interest rate cuts and expectations of an earnings rebound across key sectors. Analysts maintained a cautiously positive outlook, highlighting that strong performances from select financial and energy companies could sustain the broader market momentum.