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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

By Eshitva Prakash

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices ended lower Thursday after rising for three consecutive sessions, pulled down by a fall in index heavyweights. The domestic equity market was under pressure from profit booking in select metal companies and declines in shares of several public and private banks. Investors are still waiting for clarity on the India-US trade deal after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India was set to finalise and sign a joint statement on the first tranche of the bilateral trade deal within 4–5 days.

The Nifty 50 settled 0.5% lower at 25642.80 points, down 133.20 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 83313.93 points, down 503.76 points or 0.6%. The 50-stock index faced selling pressure since the start of the day. Shares of index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries ended 1-2% lower. 

Shares of Trent closed nearly 3% higher after the company's net profit rose over 36% on year to INR 6.40 billion in the December quarter, surpassing analyst estimates. Shares of Max Healthcare closed 1.5% higher after the company's net profit for the December quarter rose 26% on year to INR 3.01 billion. However, the company's revenue and net profit missed Street estimates. 

Shares of steel manufacturing companies such as Tata Steel and JSW Steel bucked the broader trend of decline in metal stocks, rising around 1% higher each. However, metal companies linked to the production of other metals ended lower as investors took profits after a recent rally. The underlying commodities faced a sharp correction on the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India, prompting a decline in these stocks, analysts said. Aluminium and copper producer, Hindalco Industries, ended 3% lower and was hit the hardest among Nifty 50 stocks. Shares of Vedanta were down 5% and those of its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc were down nearly 5%. Shares of Hindustan Zinc closed 4.5% lower.

"This correction is largely sentiment driven as investors are selling or purchasing stocks of metal companies on the basis of commodity prices," said Ajay Kedia, director of Kedia Advisory. The analyst believes that there have been no major changes in the fundamentals of these companies, but since investors do not want to miss out on another metal rally, they are making their trading decisions in hope of quick gains.

Shares of most information technology companies closed lower, extending sharp losses from the prior session. Shares of core software developers have been under pressure globally since Anthropic launched AI tools for corporate legal teams, which has spooked markets that AI-based tools may reduce sales of businesses that benefit from outsourcing. However, US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions reported strong Oct-Dec figures, which may signal an increase in discretionary spending in select verticals, according to brokerages.

Infosys, Coforge, and HCL Technologies closed around 1% lower. Barring Tech Mahindra and Wipro, all other constituents of the Nifty IT index closed in the red, with the index ending 0.6% lower. 

Shares of PB Fintech closed almost 8% higher after the company said it had cancelled the Thursday meeting to discuss raising funds through a potential qualified institutional placement. A qualified institutional placement would lead to equity dilution for the company's shareholders. Shares of quick service restaurant companies ended higher, with Jubilant Foodworks and Devyani International closing with over 5% and 7% gains, respectively. These stocks have risen after midcap stocks took a beating in the previous few sessions, said Krishnan Sambamoorthy, head of research at Nirmal Bang. 

Shares of Westlife Foodworld closed over 12% higher despite its consolidated net profit for the December quarter nosediving over 85% on year to INR 10.2 million and sharply missing consensus estimate, according to results released Tuesday. The company's same-store sales fell 3.2% on year, thereby decreasing the profitability, YES Securities said in a report.

Tube Investments of India closed nearly 10% lower. The company's management said that its export growth was weaker than expected in the December quarter. Hexaware Technologies closed over 7% lower after its consolidated net profit for the December quarter fell 8.5% on year to INR 2.92 billion. Excluding the cost due to labour codes, the company's net profit would have risen to INR 4.03 billion, higher than analyst estimates of INR 2.92 billion. 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 20 rose and 30 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 6 rose and 24 fell

* On the NSE, 1,113 stocks rose, 2,033 fell, and 96 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,690 stocks rose, 2,504 fell, and 154 were unchanged

* Nifty Metal: down 1%; Nifty Consumer Durables: down 0.8%; Nifty PSU Bank: up 0.4%

BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 83313.93, down 503.76 points or 0.6%        Nifty 50: 25642.80, down 133.20 points or 0.5%

End

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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