Indian shares set to open higher after upbeat TCS earnings
- GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,909.50
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.”