Indian shares slid on Monday as a swathe of lacklustre earnings reports confirmed investors' fears that a slowdown in corporate profits would continue.
The Nifty 50 tumbled 1.08% to 22,842.1 points as of 10:37 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex shed 1.03% to 75,404.84.
"Barring IT this earnings season, commentary from most other sectors indicates an adverse impact due to a slowdown in government capex and urban consumption, which is hurting investor sentiment across the board," said Gaurav Dua, senior vice president and head of capital market strategy at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
"While the drop in the benchmarks could be limited from here on, the pain could be prolonged in small- and mid-cap segments, since they are vulnerable in a tough macroeconomic environment, while costlier valuations could trigger further selling."
Small-cap stock sank 4.5%, while mid-caps lost about 3%.
They have fallen 13.7% and 9.6%, respectively, so far in January, while the Nifty has dropped 3.5%.
ICICI Bank rose 1.7%, helping limit the losses on the benchmark, after reporting a higher quarterly profit, driven by healthy loan growth. But other reports, including from lenders, disappointed.
Earnings worries yank Indian shares to third week of losses
IDFC First Bank fell 6.7% to a 21-month low after its profit more than halved due to souring microfinance loans, while AU Small Finance Bank also lost 7% after cutting its fiscal year 2025 loan growth forecast.
JSW Steel declined 2%, leading metal stocks 2.5% lower, after missing quarterly profit estimates due to lower prices and cooling demand.
Godrej Consumer lost 2% after its quarterly profit missed estimates due to moderating urban demand.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reminded how serious he was about tariffs after first threatening tariffs and sanctions on Colombia over a migrant-related dispute before putting them on hold as a deal was reached.
Comments