Market Commentary End Session News Details

Nifty ends below 24,000 as IT rally offsets FMCG drag

(28-Jul-26   17:09)

Key equity benchmarks ended little changed on Tuesday after a range-bound session, as gains in IT stocks offset weakness in FMCG, chemicals and PSU banks. Easing crude oil prices lent support to sentiment, although investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision. The Nifty ended just below the 24,000 mark.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 69.86 points or 0.09% to 76,765.92. The Nifty 50 index lost 10.60 points or 0.04% to 23,985.35.

Hindustan Unilever (down 7.11%), ICICI Bank (down 1.94%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.65%) were major Nifty drags today.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slipped 0.47%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,528 shares rose and 2,740 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.77% to 12.56.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement slumped $1.93 or 2.18% to $86.43 a barrel.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.8875 compared with its close of 95.9900 during the previous trading session.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 0.03% to 6.775 as compared with previous close 6.773.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2026 settlement dropped 1.17% to Rs 1,41,395.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.09% to 101.62.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.47% to 4.619.

Global Markets:

Dow Jones futures rose 281 points, pointing to a positive start for Wall Street.

European stocks advanced on Tuesday, supported by resilient corporate earnings from consumer staples and industrial companies, even as elevated bond yields kept investors cautious ahead of key central bank policy decisions.

Most Asian indices ended lower, with South Korea's Kospi slumping more than 10%, as investors awaited quarterly earnings from U.S. technology giants including Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft, along with the Federal Reserve's policy decision.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Investors will closely watch Chair Jerome Powell's comments for clues on the future path of monetary policy, with Fed funds futures indicating expectations of a quarter-percentage-point rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Investors will also monitor U.S. consumer confidence data due later in the day, while earnings from Coca-Cola, UPS, Corning and Boeing are scheduled before the opening bell.

Oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields remain in focus. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield eased 0.56% to 4.615%.

Geopolitical tensions also remained on investors' radar. Hostilities between the United States and Iran remain paused as diplomats continue peace efforts, while U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss developments in the Middle East, particularly Iran.

Wall Street ended mixed overnight as investors awaited earnings from megacap technology companies and the Fed's policy decision. The S&P 500 inched up 0.02% to 7,413.18, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.51% to 52,210.08, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18% to 24,932.08.

Stocks in Spotlight:

The Nifty IT index jumped 3.32% to 30,418.35 on Tuesday, extending its gains to 6.61% over three trading sessions.

Coforge led the rally with a 10.16% jump, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which gained 4.46%. Mphasis advanced 3.57%, Tech Mahindra rose 3.49%, and Persistent Systems added 3.22%. LTIMindtree climbed 2.82%, while Infosys, Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), HCL Technologies and Wipro gained 2.39%, 2.08%, 1.93% and 1.41%, respectively.

The rally gathered pace after a foreign brokerage upgraded the Indian IT sector to Neutral from Underweight and added Infosys to its model portfolio.

Sentiment was further buoyed by improving global technology cues as investors rotated out of AI chipmakers into software and IT services companies. Strong overnight gains in U.S. software stocks relative to semiconductor stocks lifted sentiment for Indian IT shares, while attractive valuations following the sector's prolonged correction also encouraged fresh buying.

Coforge surged after the company reported a strong set of earnings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026. In US dollar terms, revenue stood at $592.2 million, up 33.3% YoY and 21.1% QoQ. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 63.4% YoY to Rs 518.60 crore, while it declined 15.3% sequentially. Gross revenue increased 49.2% YoY and 24.2% QoQ to Rs 5,527.70 crore in the June 2026 quarter.

Meanwhile, the company's board also gave in-principle approval to set up an entity in China to expand its operations, with further details to be shared later. The announcement came alongside the company's financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

Varun Beverages tumbled 7.53% after the beverage maker reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2026. The stock came under pressure as EBITDA margin contracted 76 basis points following the consolidation of the lower-margin Twizza business in South Africa. The company's consolidated net profit increased 15.1% year-on-year to Rs 1,525.36 crore in Q2 CY2026. Revenue from operations (net of excise/GST) rose 20.4% YoY to Rs 8,451.23 crore.

Hindustan Unilever tumbled 7.11% after the FMCG major reported a 3.01% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,673 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY27), compared with Rs 2,756 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations jumped 10.3% YoY to Rs 17,184 crore in Q1 FY27. Higher raw material costs and expenses squeezed profit margins for the company.

Indoco Remedies dropped 7.72%. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 64.99 crore in Q1 FY27 as against a net loss of Rs 35.79 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 8.43% year on year to Rs 466.22 crore in the first quarter of FY27 from Rs 430.86 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Tata Chemicals fell 3.73% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 17 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY27), compared with a net profit of Rs 525 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 14.41% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 4,255 crore during the quarter, driven by higher sales volumes that offset lower realizations.

Tejas Networks slipped 3.84% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 202.24 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with a net loss of Rs 193.87 crore posted in Q1 FY26. However, the company's total revenue from operations jumped 99.10% to Rs 402.16 crore in Q1 FY27 as against Rs 201.98 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Tilaknagar Industries rose 0.10%. The company reported a 64.30% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 31.59 crore in Q1 FY27 as against Rs 88.50 crore in Q1 FY26. However, revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) jumped 165.54% to Rs 1,046.03 crore in Q1 FY27 as against Rs 393.92 crore in Q1 FY26.

Godfrey Phillips India tanked 7.80% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 44.3% to Rs 198.39 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 356.31 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) declined 19.2% to Rs 1,191.85 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 1,474.25 crore in Q1 FY26.

Aurionpro Solutions fell 11.79% after the company reported 10.62% decrease in consolidated net profit to Rs 45.86 crore on a 6.31% rise in revenue to Rs 358.07 crore in Q1 FY27 as compared with Q1 FY26.

Indus Towers declined 1.73%. The company reported a marginal increase in its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of FY27, with profit after tax (PAT) rising to Rs 1,745.8 crore from Rs 1,736.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 4.64% year on year to Rs 8,431.1 crore in the first quarter of FY27 from Rs 8,057.6 crore a year earlier.

R R Kabel surged 2.36% after the company reported a strong set of earnings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 128.8% year-on-year and 22.2% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 205.20 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations rose 53.9% YoY and 6.9% QoQ to Rs 3,168.20 crore in the June 2026 quarter.

Om Infra rallied 4.78% after the company said it had emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for a major infrastructure project floated by the Water Resources Department (WRD), Chhattisgarh.

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