July 10 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading in the red during early hours on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the earnings season kickoff. All eyes are on IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is set to announce its first-quarter results later in the day.
Market analysts said uncertainty around potential changes in tariffs also contributed to the cautious sentiment among investors.
The BSE Sensex dropped 76.99 points to 83,461.90 in early trade on Thursday, while the NSE Nifty slipped 23.15 points to 25,452.95.
Among the major laggards on the Sensex were Tata Motors, Infosys, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
However, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers in early trade.
“Market is unlikely to break the narrow range in which it has been trading for more than a month now. Resilience of the global markets and sustained fund flows into Indian markets have the potential to support the market at the bottom end of the range. A clear break out of the upper range of Nifty 25,500 may happen on positive news of a trade deal between US and India. But this is partly discounted by the market and, therefore, will not be sufficient to sustain the rally well beyond Nifty 25,500,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
With the earnings season beginning today, market experts expect increased stock-specific movements based on company results.
Meanwhile, India — currently in trade negotiations with the US — has not been included in the list of countries that received tariff notices from the Trump administration as of Wednesday.
In Asia, markets were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down.
On Wall Street, US markets closed higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹77 crore, according to exchange data.
“Markets are driven by two key triggers: tariff threats and TCS kicking off Q1 earnings on July 10 post-market,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude edged down 0.06% to $70.15 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex had dropped 176.43 points, or 0.21%, to close at 83,536.08, while the NSE Nifty slipped 46.40 points, or 0.18%, to settle at 25,476.10.
