The markets remained under pressure on April 22. The Nifty 50 is struggling below 24,500 while the Sensex is down nearly 1% in midday trade. The big cut is in the technology space with the Nifty IT Index plunging 3.87%.
Here are the top movers and shakers at this hour:
Tech sector stocks
HCL Technologies Ltd. fell about 10%, dragging sentiment down with it. Infosys Ltd. slipped close to 4%, Persistent Systems dropped over 4%, Tech Mahindra declined more than 5%, and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. was not spared either, down nearly 2%.
HCLTech reported a 4.20% rise in net profit to Rs 4,488 crore for the March quarter. Revenue rose over 12% to Rs 33,981 crore. On paper, it does not look weak. But the problem sits in the outlook. The company guided for 1% to 4% growth for FY27 in constant currency. That range is narrow and cautious, almost defensive. Management pointed to volatility, reduced discretionary spending, and client-specific issues. It was not the kind of commentary that supports optimism.
Wipro posted a net profit of Rs 3,501.8 crore for the quarter, down 1.89% year-on-year. Its guidance for the upcoming quarter suggested a possible decline of up to 2% in constant currency terms.
BEML
BEML share price climbed about 4.32% by midday after a strong start to the session. The move came after the company secured a defence order. Earlier in the day, the stock had surged over 8%, touching Rs 1,910 before cooling off slightly.
The order, worth around Rs 590 crore, relates to the supply of trawl assemblies for T-72 and T-90 tanks.
Central Mines
Stock price of the recently listed CMPDI slipped around 2.4% by midday after weak Q4 earnings. The decline followed a sharp 32% fall in quarterly net profit to Rs 187 crore, even though revenue rose 11% to Rs 827 crore. Costs moved faster than revenue, and that imbalance showed up clearly. Total expenses rose nearly 42% to Rs 589 crore, with employee-related costs forming a large part of that increase. Earnings per share dropped to Rs 2.63 from Rs 3.88 a year ago.
The company announced a final dividend of Rs 1.06 per share, subject to approval.
Cyient DLM
Cyient DLM Ltd. share price moved up around 5% by midday after reacting to its quarterly results. The numbers themselves were not exactly comforting at first glance. Net profit fell 27.7% year-on-year to Rs 22.44 crore, while revenue declined 13.8% to Rs 369.07 crore.
Profit nearly doubled quarter-on-quarter, rising 99.8%, while revenue increased over 21%. The order book stood at Rs 2,416.6 crore, which gave some confidence about future visibility.
For the full year, profit rose 7.6% to Rs 73.28 crore, even as revenue declined 17%.
Nestle India
Nestle India share price gained about 3% by midday after extending recent momentum. The stock has already risen about 19% over the past month, and the latest results gave it another push.
The company reported a 26% rise in net profit to Rs 1,114 crore for the March quarter. Revenue increased 23% to Rs 6,748 crore. Those are not marginal improvements. They are substantial enough to justify the recent buying interest.
Sunteck Realty
Sunteck Realty share price surged about 10% by midday after a strong earnings update. The stock had earlier jumped over 12% in early trade, indicating aggressive buying from the start.
The company reported a 27% rise in net profit to Rs 63.75 crore for the quarter. Total income increased sharply by over 60% to Rs 348.88 crore. EBITDA rose 40.57% to Rs 97 crore, although margins narrowed slightly to 29%.
Persistent Systems
Persistent Systems share price declined about 4.5% by midday after coming under pressure post results. The drop came despite the company reporting solid growth in key metrics.
Net profit rose 33.7% year-on-year to Rs 529.2 crore. Revenue increased 25% to Rs 4,055.9 crore. On a sequential basis too, both profit and revenue moved higher.