Benchmarks end lower amid IT selloff, stalled US-India trade talks

Business Standard

2 days ago

Domestic equity benchmarks ended in the red today as intense selling pressure in IT stocks dragged indices lower, following disappointing earnings from key sector players. Investor sentiment was further dampened by negative global cues. The White House's announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump will visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday an unexpected and controversial move has heightened tensions with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, injecting fresh uncertainty into global markets.
Adding to the unease, trade negotiations between India and the U.S. have reportedly hit a roadblock. With Washingtons August 1 deadline approaching, talks remain stalled over tariff reductions on key agricultural and dairy products, raising doubts over the finalisation of an interim trade deal.
The Nifty 50 closed below the 25,100 mark, weighed down by broad-based selling across sectors. However, selective buying in pharma and PSU banks helped limit the downside. The market had opened on a positive note but quickly gave up gains during the early part of the session. Despite a mild recovery attempt later in the day, indices eventually closed near the days lows.
The S&P BSE Sensex slumped 542.47 points or 0.66% to 82,184.17, while the Nifty 50 fell 157.80 points or 0.63% to 25,062.10.
Nestle India (down 5.41%), Reliance Industries (down 1.53%) and Infosys (down 1.32%) were major drags today.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.43%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.50%.
Market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,410 stocks declining and only 1,645 advancing. Meanwhile, 166 stocks remained unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.97% to 10.72.
Economy:
The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI climbed to 59.2 in July 2025 from 58.4 in the previous month, according to preliminary estimates. The latest figure signaled a robust expansion in manufacturing activity and marked the highest reading in nearly 17-and-a-half years, highlighting the sector's continued momentum.
The HSBC India Services PMI declined to 59.4 in July 2025 from 60.4 in the previous month, preliminary readings showed. The latest figure marked a slowdown from the fastest expansion in ten months, as output growth eased compared to the prior month.
The HSBC India Composite PMI fell to 60.7 in July 2025 from a final 61.0 in June, which was a 14-month high, flash data showed. Despite the slight dip, the latest result remained well above its long-run average of 54.8. Services activity rose at a slightly slower pace, though still robust by historical standards, while manufacturing output grew the most since April 2024.
India-UK Deal:
India and the UK signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement on Thursday, aiming to boost annual bilateral trade by $34 billion. Under the agreement, India will reduce tariffs on 90% of goods imported from the UK, while the UK will eliminate duties on 99% of Indian exports. The pact is expected to benefit key sectors such as leather, textiles, electronics, and software, while also attracting fresh investments between the two nations.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.25% to 6.328 from the previous close of 6.312.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.4200 compared with its close of 86.4125 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement declined 0.82% to Rs 98,600.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.17% to 97.39.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.41% to 4.407.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2025 settlement gained 70 cents or 1.02% to $69.21 a barrel.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 179 points, indicating a negative start for US stocks today.
Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday as fresh trade developments between the U.S. and Japan, alongside encouraging signals of a deal with the European Union, buoyed investor sentiment.
Investor focus shifted to Washingtons evolving trade strategy, with U.S. President Donald Trump setting his sights on the European Union after finalizing a sweeping agreement with Japan. Negotiators from both the U.S. and EU are now under pressure to strike a deal by August 1, as the Trump administration appears firm on its tariff timeline.
On Tuesday, the U.S. and Japan sealed what Trump described as "the largest trade deal in history." The agreement includes a $550 billion investment from Japan into the U.S. economy. In return, tariffs on Japanese exports to the American marketranging from automobiles to agricultural goodshave been reduced to 15% from the previously proposed 25%. Trump hailed the deal as a mutually beneficial win that opens Japans markets to U.S. cars, trucks, and farm products.
Economic data from Japan, however, painted a mixed picture. The au Jibun manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.8 in Julys preliminary reading, below expectations of 50.2 and down from 50.1 in June, signaling a mild contraction. On the other hand, the services sector showed resilience, with the services PMI rising to 53.5 from 51.7 a month earlier.
Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. equities finished higher after Trump promoted his trade accomplishments with Japan and Indonesia on Truth Social. He also hinted at easing tariffs if other nations opened their markets to American goods. Adding to the momentum, Washington unveiled its new AI Action (WA: ACT) Plan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.14% to a six-month high, while the S&P 500 gained 0.78% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.61%.
Stocks in Spotlight:
The Nifty IT index fell 2.21% to 36,135.80. Infosys dropped 1.32 after the companys consolidated net profit declined 1.59% to Rs 6,921 crore despite a 3.31% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 42,279 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q4 FY25. On a year on year (YoY) basis, the companys net profit and revenue jumped 8.68% and 7.54%, respectively in Q1 FY26.
The companys total contract value (TCV) of large deal wins was $3.8 billion in Q1 FY26, with a net new of 55%. The companys total clients stood at 1,861 as on 30th June 2025 as compared with 1,867 clients as on 30th June 2024. The IT major has informed that the voluntary attrition rate (LTM IT Services) came in at 14.4% in Q1 FY26, up from 14.1% in Q4 FY25 and 12.7% in Q1 FY25.
Coforge tumbled 9.42% after the company has reported 4.8% decline in consolidated net profit (continuing business) to Rs 247.2 crore despite an 8.2% increase in revenue to Rs 3,689 crore in Q1 FY26 as compared with Q4 FY25.
The companys order intake for the quarter $507 million. The executable order book over next twelve months at $1.55 billion, a 46.9% YoY increase. The company signed 5 large deals in Q1 FY26 across North America, UK, and APAC.
Persistent System slumped 7.68%. The IT firm has reported 7.37% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 424.94 crore on 2.82% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,333.59 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25. The order booking for the quarter ended on 30th June 2025, was at $520.8 million in total contract value (TCV) and at $385.3 million in annual contract value (ACV) terms.
Cigniti Technologies declined 6.85% after the companys consolidated net profit dropped 9.97% to Rs 65.9 crore on a 0.74% rise in revenue to Rs 534.2 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q4 FY25.
Oracle Financial Services Software rose 2.08% after the company reported a 4.09% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 641.9 crore on a 6.36% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,852.2 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) tumbled 29.49% after media reports indicated that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has formally announced the implementation of power market coupling in India. According to reports, under the first phase of the new regulatory framework, the day-ahead market (DAM) is expected to be coupled by January 2026. The model proposes a round-robin system where multiple power exchanges will alternately function as Market Coupling Operators (MCOs).
Market coupling is a mechanism through which buy and sell bids from all power exchanges are aggregated and centrally matched to arrive at a single, uniform market clearing price (MCP). Once implemented, this would mean only one trading price for electricity across all exchanges at any given time, eliminating price variations across platforms.
Nestle India dropped 5.41% after the companys standalone net profit declined 11.70% to Rs 659.23 crore in Q1 FY26, compared with Rs 746.60 crore posted in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations jumped 5.86% to Rs 5,096.2 crore in Q1 FY26, compared to Rs 5,096.2 crore in Q1 FY25.
Trent declined 3.92% after a foreign brokerage downgraded the stock to "neutral" from its previous "buy" rating, while also lowering the target price from Rs 6,970 to Rs 5,500 per share.
Dr Reddys Laboratories added 1.4% after the companys consolidated net profit rose 1.8% to Rs 1,418.10 crore on 11.4% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 8,545.20 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Thyrocare Technologies surged 11.11% after the healthcare service provider reported a 61.07% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 38.93 crore on a 23.02% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 193.03 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Force Motors rallied 12% after the company reported a 52.39% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 176.36 crore on a 21.88% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,297.25 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Natco Pharma slipped 3.58%. The company informed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has issued an EIR for its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) division located in Mekaguda, Hyderabad, Telangana. The US FDA had conducted an inspection at the companys aforementioned unit from 9 June to 13 June 2025. Post the inspection, the company received one observation in Form-483, which was classified as voluntary action indicated (VAI).
Bajaj Steel Industries dropped 6.21% after the companys consolidated net profit plunged 78.93% to Rs 7.40 crore in Q1 FY26 as against Rs 35.13 crore posted in Q1 FY25. Revenue from operations declined 23.74% YoY to Rs 107.53 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2025.
IPO Update:
GNG Electronics' IPO bids for 36,79,39,845 shares as against 1,41,88,644 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Thursday (24 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 25.93 times.
Brigade Hotel Ventures's IPO received bids for 3,11,20,684 shares as against 5,11,93,987 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Thursday (24 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 0.61 times.
Indiqube Spaces' IPO bids for 4,28,58,837 shares as against 1,71,48,335 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Thursday (24 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 2.50 times.