Sensex, Nifty on slippery ground as IT stocks dip ahead of TCS Q1 results

The Nifty IT was the worst-performing sectoral index, down by nearly 1 per cent in intra-day deals on Thursday.

Sensex, Nifty today: Benchmark equity indices were trading in red as investor sentiment remained jittery amid worries over trade tariffs. The US government sent fresh tariff letters to several countries, warning that new import duties will take effect next month unless trade agreements are reached. Meanwhile, at home, caution prevailed ahead of Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) earnings for the first quarter of FY26.

 

At 11:45 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 83,238.44, down by nearly 300 points or 0.36 per cent. Whereas, Nifty was down by 93 points or 0.37 per cent, quoting 25,382.95. 

From the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech cement were among the top gainers. Whereas, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, HCL tech, Mahindra and Mahindra and Infosys were among the top laggards.

 

Nearly, all sectors were in the negative territory, except metal and realty. The Nifty IT was the worst-performing sectoral index, trading at 38,303, down by nearly 1 per cent. Nifty Pharma followed suit and was down 0.74 per cent, at 22,043.

 

Even broader markets were trading in red as midcap and smallcap stocks failed to impress investors.The Nifty Midcap 100 was trading at 59,158, down by 0.31 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 also experienced a similar trajectory and fell 0.24 per cent, trading at 18,961.  Read Stock Market LIVE Updates: Sensex down 250pts, Nifty below 25,400 

While markets have remained largely flat since the advent of July, the bias has been towards the bearish zone. That apart, D-street analysts have now pinned their hopes on Q1FY26 earnings results to provide directional movement to the markets in the coming weeks. 

TCS Q1FY26 earnings expectations

D-street analysts are not expecting any positive surprises for TCS due to the slower ramp-up of deals as uncertainties on the tariff front continue to paint a blurry picture. Even in the previous quarter, the IT sector, as a whole, failed to impress investors. However, analysts believe that there might be some surprises in the mid-tier segment.

 

"We expect TCS to post revenue decline of 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) in constant currency terms, with Ebit margins likely to remain flat, impacted by talent investments, lower utilization, and limited operating leverage," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, MOFSL  ALSO READ | TCS Q1 Preview: Revenue, profit to dip sequentially amid demand uncertainty

Technical Outlook

Analysts believe that Indian markets have remained largely resilient amidst global uncertainties and sustained flows have somewhat provided support to the market at the bottom end of the range. While a prospective trade deal can provide an upside, it seems that markets have already priced-in the impact of any positive movement.  "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," said Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.