Welcome to a fresh episode of ET Market Watch, where we bring you the latest news from the world of stock markets every single day.
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Indian markets ended in the red on Thursday, dragged down by losses in IT and financial stocks, as investors turned cautious ahead of TCS earnings and amid persistent uncertainty over a potential US-India trade deal.
The BSE Sensex fell 346 points to close at 83,190, while the NSE Nifty slipped 121 points, settling below the 25,400 mark at 25,355.
Big drags on the market included Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, BEL, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, LTIMindtree, and HCL Tech, with losses ranging from 0.7% to 2.6%.
The Nifty IT index was down 0.8%, reflecting investor caution ahead of TCS’ Q1 results, which were due after market hours. Interestingly, TCS shares bucked the trend, closing 0.4% higher.
Banking stocks also remained under pressure — the Nifty Bank and Nifty PSU Bank indices slipped 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top laggards in the sector.
Even Reliance Industries, a heavyweight on both indices, ended slightly lower, down 0.1%.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 both declined 0.3%.
On the technical front, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the Nifty has broken below its recent congestion zone and is trading below the 21-hour exponential moving average, a sign of prevailing bearish sentiment.
He noted the RSI (14) has also turned negative, suggesting further downside is possible. The key support zone is now at 25,250–25,200, with resistance at 25,400–25,500.
Global markets, however, painted a mixed picture.
World equities edged higher on optimism around AI and hopes of rate cuts, despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade threats.
Germany’s DAX gained 0.1%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 surged 1%, hitting a new all-time high. In Asia, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index outside Japan rose 0.5%.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq futures were slightly lower after the index hit a record close on Wednesday.
In commodities, Brent crude slipped 0.3% to trade below $70 per barrel, and WTI crude dropped 0.5% to $68.06, as traders weighed the possible economic fallout of Trump’s tariffs.
Lastly, in currency markets, the Indian rupee closed almost flat at 85.63 against the dollar, while the dollar index weakened slightly, slipping 0.19% to 97.37.
That’s all for now on ET Market Watch.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Neha Vashishth, signing off until tomorrow.
