India's equity benchmarks fall, dragged down by Bajaj Finance
The Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab fell 0.53% to 24,930.9 points and the BSE Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab lost 0.45% to 81,807.28 as of 9:55 a.m. IST.
Thirteen of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-cap (.NIFSMCP100), opens new tab and mid-cap (.NIFMDCP100), opens new tab indexes fell 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.
Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS), opens new tab dropped 5% as multiple brokerages flagged asset-quality stress in the MSME segment, despite the non-bank lender reporting a profit beat in the June quarter. It was the top decliner on the Nifty 50.
Nestle India (NEST.NS), opens new tab lost 1%, extending a more than 5% slip on Thursday after posting a lower quarterly profit hurt by rising costs.
"Market sentiment has turned cautious due to weak earnings in Bajaj Finance, IT and consumer stocks," said Hardik Matalia, analyst at Choice Equity Broking.
Meanwhile, India and Britain signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to London, sealing a deal to lower tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky and cars and allow more market access for businesses.
Although the FTA should boost sentiment, the market is unlikely to see any major upside until there is clarity on U.S. trade negotiations, three analysts said.
Bucking the trend, SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS), opens new tab gained 2.5% after posting a higher quarterly profit driven by policy renewals.
Trident (TRIE.NS), opens new tab rose 4.7% after reporting a rise in first-quarter profit on lower expenses and on the back of the India-UK trade deal.
Indian Energy Exchange (IIAN.NS), opens new tab, which sank 30% on Thursday on fears of rising competition from new pricing rules, jumped 9%, aided by quarterly profit growth.
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