SENSEX down 300 pts, NIFTY50 hovers around 25,400 in early trade; IT stocks shine, TMCV up 1%

On the NSE, the broader NIFTY50 index was trading at 25,413.10 levels, down 83.45 points, or 0.33%.

The stocks were trading lower amid weak global cues. US stocks ended lower on Thursday and Asian stocks traded mixed in the early trade.

On Wall Street, The S&P 500 retreated on Thursday as earnings from NVIDIA and Salesforce failed to lift overall market sentiment.

The benchmark index slipped 0.54% to close at 6,908.86, while the NASDAQ Composite dropped 1.18% to 22,878.38. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 17.05 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 49,499.20.

NVIDIA shares tumbled more than 5% despite reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, marking their sharpest single-day decline since April. The weakness spilled over to other semiconductor stocks, including Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Applied Materials, which also ended lower.

Back home, on the SENSEX pack, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) was the top loser (down 1.5%). The next on the losers' list were IndiGo, Bharti Airtel, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M).

On the other hand, Infosys was the top gainer on the index – up over 2%. Other IT stocks such as HCLTech, TCS, and Tech Mahindra were also trading in the green.

Other gainers on SENSEX were Trent, Eternal, SBI, and Tata Steel.

On the NSE, the NIFTY IT index was trading over 1% higher, with all 10 constituents trading in the green.

Commenting on the recent brutal sell-off in the Indian IT sector, many industry leaders have opined that the market reaction is overblown.

Sanjiv Puri, the chairman and managing director of the diversified group ITC, on Wednesday termed the sharp corrections in information technology stocks an "overreaction" by investors.

Underlining that technology has always played an enabling role, Puri said the company, with its genesis in the tobacco business and diversifying into sectors such as hospitality, FMCG, and IT services, uses AI for productivity and efficiency purposes.

"The market had a lot of overreactions. It has created a lot of overreactions," Puri told reporters on the sidelines of the annual NTLF event organised by the IT industry's lobby grouping Nasscom.

"There are use cases that are helping us improve efficiencies and productivity in the factory and in the supply chain. There are use cases that are helping us address certain requirements that we were not able to address with tools earlier," Puri added.

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Tata Motors (TMCV) gained as much as 1.65% to hit the high of ₹499.50 apiece on the NSE. The stock was in the spotlight as leading financial services firm CLSA has initiated coverage on the company.

Using the term "cycling up the hill", CLSA said the company is entering a sweet spot of a cyclical upswing, with the domestic CV cycle still at an early stage of recovery.

Tejas Networks

Tejas Networks continued its ascent for the second straight session. The stock was trading over 8% higher at ₹401.65 on the NSE. The company recently bagged an order to supply 5G massive MIMO radios.

In a regulatory filing, the Tata Sons subsidiary stated that it has signed an agreement with NEC Corporation to manufacture and supply 5G massive MIMO radios.

Commenting on the agreement, Arnob Roy, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Tejas Networks, said: “Our partnership with NEC will accelerate wireless innovation by leveraging our respective expertise in carrier-class product development for global telcos. We will continue to work closely with NEC to co-create leading-edge 5G/5G-advanced solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers worldwide.”

Broader Market

The small and midcap indices were also trading in the red. The BSE SmallCap Select Index traded at 7,753.19, down 37.92 points, or 0.49%, while the BSE 150 MidCap Index traded at 16,107.71, down 76.13 points, or 0.47%.