Indian equities despite mild gains in the Asian markets started Friday's trade lower. At the open. Nifty was down 0.15 per cent or 38.65 points at 24,959.8, while Sensex was down 0.05 per cent or 44.3 points at 81,567.11.

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Meanwhile while Nifty Bank trades in the red, broader markets Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty smallcap 100 indices traded mildly higher, outperforming the frontline indices.

Overnight, data showed core U.S. consumer inflation came in at 0.3 per cent in September, slightly hotter than expected, which hints at stalling progress in the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation. However, high weekly jobless claims figures maintained bets that the Fed remains on track to cut interest rates in November.

Sectorally, IT index was the worst hit down 0.7 per cent after the tech major TCS failed to meet estimates in its Q2 earnings. 

Last TCS shares traded with a cut of 0.7 per cent at Rs 4,199.85, while at day's low it hit levels of Rs 4,140 apiece on the BSE.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said, Nifty's upside appears capped due to key factors including FIIs turning net sellers, offloading Rs 4,927 crore yesterday, and over Rs 54,200 crore this month.

Oil prices spiked to $76 per barrel amid tensions between Israel and Iran, TCS's Q2FY25 results missed expectations with net profit falling to Rs 11,909 crore, and US CPI inflation was higher than anticipated in September. 

Meanwhile, rally in the Chinese stocks came to a halt as investors eyed details of the much-anticipated fiscal stimulus from Beijing.