Indian equity markets remained under pressure in afternoon trade on Friday, with both benchmark indices extending their morning losses. The Sensex slipped 689 points, or 0.83%, to hover around 82,500 levels. Meanwhile, the Nifty fell 203 points, or 0.8%, to trade near 25,151.
After two hours of trade, around 11:30 am, benchmark indices extended their losses with both Sensex and Nifty slipping further into negative territory. The Sensex was down over 650 points, or 0.82%, while the Nifty dropped nearly 200 points, or 0.79%, reflecting broad-based selling pressure. Among the top laggards at this hour were TCS, down 3%, followed by M&M falling 2%, with Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, and Infosys also trading lower.
The market continued to extend its losses, with the Sensex slipping over 550 points or 0.69%, while the Nifty was trading down over 100 points or 0.4% at this hour.
In the first hour of Friday’s trade, Indian equity benchmarks slipped further into the red. The Sensex dropped 438.63 points, or 0.53%, to 82,751.65, while the Nifty was down 117.70 points, or 0.46%, to hover around the 25,237.55 mark.
Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty began the final trading session of the week on a subdued note. At the opening bell, the Sensex was at 82,821.80, slipping 368.52 points or 0.44%. The Nifty too opened lower at 25,255.50, down 99.80 points or 0.44%.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank index started the session on a weak footing at 56,843.40, down 0.20%.
“TCS Q1FY26 results beat street expectations with a 6% profit rise, though demand contraction due to geopolitical uncertainties capped excitement. A major IT rebound likely hinges on a dovish Fed, with eyes now on Q1 results from HCL Tech (14 July), LTTS and Tech Mahindra (16 July), LTIM (17 July), and Infosys (23 July). Nifty bulls may remain under pressure amid Trump’s tariff threats and hawkish Fed tones, with technical strength only above 25,670. Positives include falling crude prices, strong FII/DII inflows, and India VIX slipping to 11.67. Sell Nifty and Bank Nifty on rallies, while HDFC AMC, Maruti, and M&M look bullish on dips,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
Let’s take a look at the key factors to watch out for in today’s trading session –
Top gainers in early trade
In the Sensex 30 pack, leading the gains in early trade were Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Titan, NTPC, Axis Bank, among other stocks.
Key laggards on the street
On the flip side, pressure was visible in select heavyweight counters. Early trade laggards included Eternal, PowerGrid, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Tata Motors.
Asian markets
Asian equities opened higher, tracking overnight cues. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.51%, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.81%. South Korea’s Kospi added 1%, with the Kosdaq also up 0.94%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged higher by 0.14%.
US Futures
Wall Street futures slipped in early Asian trade after U.S. President Donald Trump toughened his trade stance against Europe and Canada. Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures both declined around 0.4%, while Dow Jones futures were down about 130 points, or 0.30%.
Earnings watch: Key results scheduled today
The corporate earnings season continues, with several companies set to release their Q1 results today. Notable names on the list include Avenue Supermarts, Aditya Birla Money, Droneacharya Aerial Innovations, Elecon Engineering Company, Emerald Finance, Jagsonpal Finance & Leasing, Nath Bio-Genes (India), and Astonea Labs.
“Q1 results of TCS indicate continuing struggle for IT companies, particularly large cap IT. However, midcap IT is likely to do well. Outperformance in Q1 will be from telecom, oil and gas and segments of autos. Investors may focus on fairly valued stocks with earnings visibility,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.