The key equity indices ended with sharp losses today, extending losses for third consecutive trading session, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid stalled US-Iran negotiations, uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp climb in crude oil prices above the $107-per-barrel mark. Until signs of de-escalation emerge, the overhang on crude oil prices, the rupee, and institutional flows is expected to persist. Investors will be monitor Q4 earnings for further cues. The Nifty ended below the 23,900 level. All NSE sectoral indices closed lower, dragged by IT, media, and pharma stocks.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 999.79 points or 1.29% to 76,664.21. The Nifty 50 index slumped 275.10 points or 1.14% to 23,897.95. In the past three consecutive trading session, the Sensex and Nifty declined 3.29% and 2.76%, respectively.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.94% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 1.17%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,326 shares rose and 2,904 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 6.03% to 19.71.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2026 settlement jumped $2.29 or 2.18% to $107.36 a barrel.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index declined 5.29% to 28,530.60. The index tumbled 10.08% for the three consecutive trading sessions. The sharp fall followed Infosys issued a muted revenue outlook for FY27, signalling a slower demand environment and weakening deal momentum.
Infosys declined 6.88%. The company reported a 27.75% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,501 crore on a 2.02% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 46,402 crore in Q4 FY26 compared with Q3 FY26. Infosys guided for revenue growth of 1.5%-3.5% in constant currency terms for FY27, lower than its earlier guidance of 3.0%-3.5%, while maintaining its operating margin outlook at 20%-22%.
Adding to the concerns, the total contract value (TCV) of large deal wins fell to $3.2 billion in Q4 FY26 from $4.8 billion in Q3 FY26, indicating softer deal conversion and pipeline visibility.
Infosys (down 6.88%), Persistent Systems (down 6.3%), HCL Technologies (down 5.89%), LTM (down 5.77%), Coforge (down 5.65%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 4.94%), Mphasis (down 4.33%), Tech Mahindra (down 4.17%) and Wipro (down 1.64%) plunged.
Stocks in Spotlight:
LTM (formerly LTIMindtree) declined 5.77%. The company reported a 44.57% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,387.3 crore despite a 4.74% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 11,291.7 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q3 FY26.
Cyient slipped 6.89% after the company reported a 32.61% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 65.5 crore despite a 3.94% rise in total income to Rs 1,953.5 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q3 FY26.
Tata Capital declined 1.59%. The company has reported 42.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,502 crore on an 8.7% increase in total income to Rs 8,163.29 crore in Q4 FY26 as compared with Q4 FY25.
CIE Automotive India declined 2.57%. The company reported a 20.82% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 249.37 crore on a 14.93% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2,611.95 crore in Q1 CY26 compared with Q1 CY25.
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) fell 3.07%. The company has reported 10.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 129.77 crore on a 22.5% increase in net sales to Rs 174.30 crore in Q4 FY26 as compared with Q4 FY25.
Himadri Speciality Chemical zoomed 5.17% after the company reported a 29.05% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 200.79 crore for Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 155.58 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC added 2%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 17.96% to Rs 187.11 crore in Q4 FY26 as against Rs 228.08 crore in Q4 FY25. However, revenue from operations jumped 6.85% year on year to Rs 458.23 crore in Q4 FY26.
Atul Auto gained 3.93% after the company entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Exponent Energy to manufacture and supply 15,000 electric three-wheelers integrated with the latter's battery system and powertrain.
UTI Asset Management Company (UTI AMC) tumbled 7.91% after the AMC reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 67 crore in Q4 FY26 as against a net profit of Rs 87 crore in Q4 FY25. Total revenue from operations rose by 4% YoY to Rs 390 crore in the March 2026 quarter.
Global Markets:
The Dow Jones index futures were down 151 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.
European market declined as investors awaited another batch of corporate earnings, with Eni, Orange, and Volvo among companies scheduled to update shareholders on their financial performance.
U.K. retail sales increased 0.7% in March, according to National Statistics data.
Most Asian market ended lower on Friday, as hopes of an imminent deal to end the Iran war faded and concerns over oil supply disruptions persisted.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting in the White House with top U.S. officials, President Donald Trump said Thursday.
The temporary truce, originally set to expire after 10 days, will now provide additional time for diplomatic efforts, with Washington also pledging to work with Lebanon to strengthen its defenses against Hezbollah.
Japan's core inflation accelerated for the first time in five months, rising to 1.8% in March, with Iran war fueling energy worries. Government data showed the inflation figure, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with the 1.8% estimate that was widely reported in the media and was higher than the 1.6% seen in February.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks pulled back on Thursday, led by a drop in software shares and higher oil prices, as investor uncertainty about the trajectory of the Iran war weighed on markets.
The S&P 500 traded down 0.41% to close at 7,108.40 after earlier hitting a new all-time intraday high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.89% to finish at 24,438.50. It had also scored a new all-time high in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 179.71 points, or 0.36%, to finish at 49,310.32.