Sensex, Nifty Marginally Lower As Financials Drag

Indian shares were slightly lower on Friday as a slew of upbeat economic data from the United States clouded the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 103 points, or 0.2 percent, at 66,163 in early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty index was down 23 points, or 0.1 percent, at 19,636.

ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories climbed 1-2 percent while TCS, HDFC Bank, Hindalco, Bajaj FinServ and Axis Bank all fell around 1 percent.

Indus Towers fell 1.2 percent despite reporting a 182 percent surge in Q1 consolidated net profit.

Adani Enterprises gained 0.7 percent after its arm Adani New Industries raised $394 million (Rs.3,231 crore) from Barclays PLC and Deutsche Bank AG.

Lupin rose 0.6 percent. The pharmaceutical firm said it has resolved manufacturing issues raised by the U.S. FDA regarding its Goa and Pithampur-based manufacturing facilities.

Bharat Electronics added 1.6 percent after Q1 profit grew 23 percent.

ACC edged up 0.4 percent after its June quarter profit more than doubled.

NDTV dropped 1.2 percent as it posted a consolidated loss after tax of Rs. 8.08 crore in the June quarter.

Piramal Enterprises declined 1.3 percent despite share buyback news.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services jumped 6 percent after its quarterly consolidated net profit multiplied more than 3 times.

Nippon India Mutual Fund rose half a percent after its net income more than doubled for the June 2023 quarter.

Cipla shares were up 1.1 percent. After talk of promoter stake sale, the company clarified that it is not aware of any event that requires disclosure under listing regulations.