Indian stocks stall as sticky inflation and mixed earnings test sentiment
Benchmark indices ended mixed on Thursday as investors weighed resilient corporate profits against accelerating domestic inflation and elevated crude oil prices.
Indian equity benchmarks ended a volatile session with mixed results on Thursday, failing to break out of a four-day trading range. The Sensex index closed 114 points higher at 78,079.96, while the broader Nifty 50 slipped 40 points to 24,395.85, marking its third consecutive daily decline.
Broader markets showed relative resilience, with the Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices posting marginal gains of 0.15% and 0.27% respectively. This divergence highlights a cautious rotation by investors seeking growth outside the heavyweight index constituents amid uncertain global cues.
Sentiment remains constrained by persistent geopolitical risks and domestic macroeconomic data. July retail inflation accelerated to 4.45%, while Brent crude continued to hover between $87 and $89 per barrel amid ongoing concerns over Middle East shipping routes.
"Markets remained under pressure on Thursday and ended marginally lower, extending their losing streak for the third consecutive session amid weak global cues," said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking. He noted that the Nifty remained volatile and traded below the 24,400 mark for most of the session as investors tracked the ongoing first-quarter earnings season.
Corporate results provided some support, particularly in the financial services sector. The holding company of Axis Max Life Insurance reported a 33% year-on-year increase in its value of new business to ₹446 crore, while net profit climbed 27.2% to ₹652.8 crore on the back of a 15.5% revenue expansion.
In the automotive sector, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles posted consolidated revenue of ₹95,799 crore for the quarter. However, profitability faced headwinds as EBITDA fell to ₹6,176 crore, compressing the operating margin to 6.5% from 8.8% a year earlier.
Consumer and agricultural businesses also delivered robust bottom-line growth. KRBL, the producer of the India Gate basmati rice brand, recorded a 73.16% jump in net profit to ₹260.74 crore for the period.
These mixed corporate updates illustrate the broader challenge facing market participants in the near term. Investors must now balance strong domestic consumption trends against the dual pressures of sticky inflation and unpredictable global energy markets.
