Sensex, Nifty fall on profit booking; defence, capital market stocks shine

Business Standard

6 hours ago

Stock markets in India took a volatile turn on Friday, July 4, as investors exhibited cautious move ahead of US President Donald Trump's looming tariff deadline next week. Benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, witnessed a downward movement after trading in the consolidation zone. At 11:45 am, BSE Sensex was trading at 83,061.50, down by 185 points or 0.22 per cent. Whereas, the 50-scrip index, Nifty, was down by around 66 points or 0.27 per cent, trading at 25,343.40.
Broader markets followed suit as consolidated movement kept any prospective momentum in check. The Nifty Midcap 100 was trading at 59,474, up 0.35 per cent. Meanwhile, Nifty Smallcap also experienced a marginal decline of 0.2 per cent, trading at 18,974.
From the Sensex Pack, Bajaj twins, Hindustan Unilever. Eternal (Zomato), Infosys and BEL were among the top gainers. Whereas, Trent, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki were among the top laggards. On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto was among the worst-performing indices, trading at 23,874, down by around 0.54 per cent. Nifty metals also fell sharply by 0.87 per cent and were trading at 9,539. Defence and Pharma were among the top-performing sectors. The Nifty Pharma index was trading at 22,339, up by 0.61 per cent.
On the global front, Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' was passed in the House of Representatives. The bill will make the US president's 2017 tax cuts permanent and slash funding for green projects.
Defence, capital market stocks in focus
Defence Stock witnessed a sharp surge on Friday, even as the broader market mood remained flat. The Nifty India Defence index saw a rise of 1.4 per cent, trading above 8,980 and just a few inches away from its all-time high level. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd were among the lead gainers in the index. Shares of Bharat Dynamics Ltd and shipbuilder, Mazagon Dock, witnessed a surge of 1.26 per cent and 1.75 per cent, respectively.
The uptrend in stock price came after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) announced the approval of 10 capital acquisition proposals worth ₹1.05 Lakh crore.
"Key approvals include Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Electronic Warfare Systems, SAMs, Integrated Inventory Systems, Naval Mines, Mine Counter Measure Vessels, and Submersible Autonomous Vessels. These will enhance mobility, air defence, logistics efficiency, and maritime security," the Ministry of Defence mentioned in a social media post. Meanwhile, capital market stocks, including BSE, Angel One and Motilal Oswal Financial Services witnessed a major drop on D-street after the market watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), banned Jane Street Group and its associated entities from Indian markets.
All eyes on earnings
With markets trading in the consolidation zone, analysts believe that the upcoming earnings season will provide directional cues for the coming weeks.
"The cap to the upside of the range is put by the tepid earnings growth and expectations of modest earnings growth in FY26. Investors should watch for possible changes in the earnings growth trajectory, the indications of which will be available in the Q1 results, which will start coming soon," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.