Equities extend slide; TCS tumbles post Q3 results

The BSE Sensex retreated for the second straight day Friday, led by index heavyweight TCS which skidded following lower-than-expected margins for the third quarter.

The markets opened higher but failed to sustain the momentum as investors were skittish about corporate earnings season and preferred to take money off the table, traders said.

The 30-share Sensex opened on a strong note at 36,191.87 but succumbed to robust selling in afternoon trade. It finally settled 96.66 points, or 0.27 per cent, lower at 36,009.84.

The broader NSE Nifty too slipped by 26.65 points to close at 10,794.95.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex gained 314.74 points, while the Nifty rose by 67.60 points.

IT bellwether TCS slipped 2.45 per cent after it reported 24.1 per cent growth in net profit for the December quarter but disappointed on the margins front. The results were declared post market hours Thursday.

Other losers in the Sensex pack included IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, TCS, Yes Bank and L&T, falling up to 3.26 per cent.

Among the gainers were ITC, ONGC, Vedanta Ltd, Infosys, Axis Bank and HDFC, spurting up to 2.02 per cent.

"TCS delivered a mixed bag for 3QFY19, with inline revenues, but tepid EBIT margin. Higher other income helped PAT, which was in line with estimates," Centrum Broking said in a note.

On the macro front, the rupee was trading lower by 21 paise to 70.55 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures were trading 1.10 per cent higher at USD 62.36 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 344.58 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 10.98 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei jumped 0.97 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.55 per cent while Korea's Kospi advanced 0.60 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX was down 0.10 per cent and Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.04 per cent in early deals. London's FTSE rose 0.16 per cent.