
Sensex tumbles over 600 points: Why is stock market falling today?
Axis Bank led the slide, plunging over 4%—its sharpest fall in six months—after it posted a lower-than-expected June-quarter profit.The bank attributed the miss to a rise in bad loans following a one-time industry-wide benchmarking exercise and a dip in its net interest margin to 3.8%, down from 4.05% in the previous quarter.The lender said it had to realign its asset classification norms after discovering that a peer bank was using a stricter standard. While Axis did not name the bank, the change led to higher provisioning and credit costs.Brokerages flagged further concerns. Macquarie said the results raised "more questions than answers", pointing to Axis's elevated credit costs compared to peers, even after accounting for the one-time shift.The miss at Axis Bank weighed on investor sentiment across the sector, even as IT stocks provided some relief. Wipro gained 3% following its results, but the Nifty IT index remained flat as LTIMindtree slipped 2%.Broader markets also stayed weak. The Nifty Smallcap 100 and Midcap 100 indices were down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. So far this week, the Sensex has shed 0.8%, while the Nifty is down 0.5%, setting up both indices for a third straight week of losses.All eyes are now on the June-quarter results of heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, due on Saturday, which could set the tone for next week's market direction.- EndsTrending Reel
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
9 hours ago
- Business Standard
India-UK trade deal fails to lift stocks as earnings concerns dominate mkts
The much-anticipated signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between India and the UK did little to buoy Indian equity markets, as a broad sell-off overshadowed sector-specific optimism. While companies across textiles, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, automotive, and agriculture are positioned to benefit from tariff reductions under CETA, most stocks in these sectors closed lower on Friday. The decline was driven by pervasive concerns over weak earnings, which sent the Nifty Smallcap 100 index down by more than 2 per cent. Several sectors are poised for long-term growth from CETA; however, they did not see immediate stock gains as sentiment remained risk-averse, with investors focusing on disappointing earnings. Jasani added that the corporate results will be the immediate trigger for market movement. "The first batch of results is not very positive, and one has to see how the rest of the listed universe fares," he said. The Nifty Healthcare index stood out, rising 0.7 per cent—primarily fueled by a 3.2 per cent surge in Cipla. Healthcare and pharma stocks were the only Nifty sectoral indices to end in positive territory. Domestic liquor shares, particularly Som Distilleries & Breweries, came under pressure due to fears that CETA could intensify competition by easing market access for international brands. Despite short-term market weakness, analysts remain optimistic about companies well-positioned in export-oriented sectors, as they stand to realise gains as tariff reductions take effect and trade flows gradually increase. "The stocks will react to the earnings, and these benefits will need to be reflected in terms of revenue and profit growth. Moreover, the India-US trade deal is the most anticipated event," said Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.


Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Hexaware Technologies Q2 Results: Profit jumps 38% YoY to Rs 380 crore but misses estimates
Carlyle-backed Hexaware Technologies reported a 38% on-year rise in June quarter net profit in rupee terms at Rs 380 crore. Profit rose 16% sequentially. Profit trailed expectations, largely due to a more than 20% increase in other expenses such as acquisition-related cost, and impairment of customer contract associated with an earlier acquisition. Hexaware issued a muted revenue guidance for the year ahead. The company follows a January to December financial year. Unlike its mid-tier peers, Hexaware's Q2 revenue was relatively subdued at Rs 3,260 crore, rising 11.1% on-year and 1.6% sequentially in constant currency terms, lagging Street estimates. In constant currency terms, revenue stood at $382.1 million, growing 1.3% sequentially and 7.5% from a year ago. During the quarter, revenue growth was impacted by decline in manufacturing and consumer segments, and flat growth in financial services. Live Events 'Our growth expectations for the year are a little bit lower now than it was in the beginning of Q2,' R. Srikrishna, CEO, Hexaware told ET. 'With lots of new promises of higher tariffs against multiple countries…that's on the negative side. On the positive side, some trade deals have been announced with some smaller countries and there could be a slew of them in the next few weeks,' he added. Shares of Hexaware fell sharply on the earnings announcement. They closed 10.7% lower at Rs 738.25 apiece, underperforming a 0.88% decline in the benchmark BSE Sensex. The Hexaware management said there is softness and cyclicality in the macro environment, and that all large consolidation deals are continuing. 'Small and mid-sized deals are progressing well. However, decision making is slowed. Consequently, lowered expectations for the rest of the year,' the company said. Geographically, Europe witnessed growth both on-year and sequentially, but Asia Pacific witnessed a decline from a year ago, and marginal growth from the March quarter. 'There will be one or two quarters which will have blips (in Asia Pacific) but long-term, in general, it will be positive,' said Srikrishna. 'In India, we made an acquisition to serve GCC (global capability centre) customers here. In the Middle East, we continue to have a strong pipeline and expect to convert in Q3 and grow revenues in Q4.' This month, Hexaware acquired Bengaluru-based SMC Squared for $120 million (about Rs 1,038 crore) in an all-cash deal, which is expected to add revenue growth in the coming two quarters. While adjusted margin improved to 18.1%, up from 17.1% in the March quarter, its full-year margin guidance stood at 17.1–17.4%. The company expects banking to continue to deliver better sequential growth despite a one-off degrowth in Q1 which will impact financial services for the full year. 'On manufacturing, customers are waiting for clarity on costs. Once that happens, it takes a few weeks to translate that into what it means for them,' Srikrishna said.


Economic Times
10 hours ago
- Economic Times
Stock market update: Nifty Pharma index advances 0.54%
NEW DELHI: The Nifty Pharma index closed on a positive note on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Shares of Cipla Ltd.(up 3.0 per cent), Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(up 2.39 per cent), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.(up 0.98 per cent), Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.(up 0.79 per cent) and J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(up 0.74 per cent) ended the day as top gainers in the pack. On the other hand, Natco Pharma Ltd.(down 3.15 per cent), Abbott India Ltd.(down 2.32 per cent), Ipca Laboratories Ltd.(down 2.07 per cent), Granules India Ltd.(down 1.59 per cent) and Biocon Ltd.(down 0.87 per cent) finished as the top losers of the day. The Nifty Pharma index closed 0.54 per cent up at 22662.7. Benchmark NSE Nifty50 index ended down 225.1 points at 24837.0, while the BSE Sensex stood down 721.08 points at 81463.09. Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 7 ended in the green, while 43 closed in the red. ADVERTISEMENT Shares of Indian Energy Exchg, Vodafone Idea, Trident Ltd, YES Bank and RattanIndia Power were among the most traded shares on the NSE. Shares of Sharda Cropchem, Vimta Labs, Times Guaranty, Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem and Stallion India Fluor hit their fresh 52-week highs in today's trade, while Shalimar Paints, Stampede Cap, Shriram EPC(PP), Vipul Ltd and Raymond Realty hit their fresh 52-week lows. ADVERTISEMENT (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)