Indian shares set to open higher after upbeat TCS earnings

Indian shares are poised to open higher on Friday, supported by better-than-expected quarterly results from Tata Consultancy Services, even as concerns over ​the durability of a U.S.–Iran ceasefire may keep risk appetite ‌in check.

GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,909.50 as of 8:08 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above Thursday’s close of 23,775.10.

TCS a ​9.7% rise in revenue and a 12.2% increase in net profit for the March quarter, and said that ​the emergence of new artificial intelligence models and tools had not dented demand for its services.

“Management ⁠commentary suggests that while macro uncertainty persists, the outlook is more ​construction versus prior quarters,” said analysts led by Vikas Ahuja of Antique ​Stock Broking.

Nifty 50 and Sensex have gained 4.7% and 4.5%, respectively, so far this week, putting them on track to snap a six-week losing streak after the United States and Iran agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire.

Elsewhere ​in Asia, equities rose about 0.9%, while crude prices traded below $100 a barrel ​after Israel said it would start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Iran cited Israel’s ‌ongoing strikes on ⁠Lebanon as a key sticking point in its agreement with Washington.

Back home, foreign portfolio investors offloaded Indian stocks on Thursday, taking the total outflows for April so far to $4.9 billion.

“Valuations of domestic equities are now extremely favourable and risk-reward ​is titled towards ​high equity ⁠exposure, after the recent correction due to the Iran war,” said Ankur Punj, managing director and business head ​at Equirus Wealth.

“Any positives from earnings could spur an ​upswing in ⁠domestic markets.”