Indian shares opened lower on Wednesday as sentiment remained weak due to persistent foreign selling and dull corporate earnings, while investors awaited key US data and the outcome of the US presidential election.
The NSE Nifty 50 shed 0.24% to 24,411.9 points as of 9:57 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.28% to 80,142.11. Seven of the 13 major sectors logged losses at the open.
The broader, more domestically focussed small and mid-caps rose 1% and 0.5%, respectively. Drug maker Cipla fell 3.6% and was the top loser by percentage on the Nifty 50.
The stock fell about 5.5% in two sessions despite reporting a quarterly profit beat during market hours on Tuesday.
Several brokerages cut their earnings estimates for Cipla for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, citing a likely delay and uncertainty in launching key drugs, muted growth in the US and an increase in operating costs.
Car maker Maruti Suzuki India, which fell 3.8% in the previous session due to a revenue slowdown and profit drop in the September quarter, rose 1.75% on the day.
It was among the top five Nifty 50 gainers.
India’s top carmaker by sales said sales by dealers to customers in the key festive season grew 14% year-on-year.
The benchmark indexes Nifty 50 and Sensex are down about 7% from record-high levels hit on Sept. 27, with sentiment dampened by foreign outflows for 22 straight sessions and a largely tepid earnings season so far.
Indian shares open marginally lower as tepid earnings, persistent foreign outflows weigh
The Nifty 50 has lost about 5.5% in October so far, and is on track for its worst monthly performance since March 2020, when lockdown-related restrictions rattled investors and triggered a meltdown across global equity markets.
Volatility could rise in the next few sessions ahead of key US non-farm payrolls data on Friday and the US presidential elections on Nov. 5, two traders said.
Among individual stocks, consumer goods maker Marico rose 7.3% after its second-quarter profit beat estimates.
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