The domestic equity indices traded with minor losses in early trade amid muted global cues, a day after extending gains for the third straight session. Sentiment remained cautious following volatility in global IT stocks, triggered by concerns over Anthropic’s latest AI tool and its potential impact on sector valuations.
The Nifty traded below the 25,750 mark. FMCG, PSU bank and oil & gas shares advanced while metal, realty and auto shares declined.
At 09:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 294.25 points or 0.35% to 85,523.44. The Nifty 50 index fell 33.80 points or 0.13% to 25,742.20.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.65% and the S&P BSE 250 SmallCap Index tanked 0.67%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,509 shares rose and 1,567 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 29.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 249.54 crore in the Indian equity market on 04 February 2026, provisional data showed.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Trent fell 1.11%. The company reported a 36.3% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 639.71 crore on 15.98% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5259.46 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.
Tata Power Company fell 2.25% after it has reported 25.1% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 771.98 crore on 9.37% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 13,948.41 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.
JSW Cement added 4.38% after it has reported consolidated net profit of Rs 149.02 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with net loss of Rs 68.79 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 13.16% YoY to Rs 1621.22 crore in Q3 FY26.
RBI MPC:
The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel has started its three-day meeting for the next bi-monthly monetary policy on Wednesday. The decision of RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced on Friday.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.39% to 6.695 compared with previous session close of 6.721.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.4725 compared with its close of 90.4700 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement declined 1.25% to Rs 151,139.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 97.80.
The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.33% to 4.264.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement fell $1.36 or 1.96% to $68.19 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Asia market mostly fell Thursday as the tech sell-off on Wall Street gained momentum, with cryptocurrencies also falling.
Bitcoin declined more than 3%, hovering just above the $73,000 level, after falling below that mark earlier.
The S&P 500 fell on Wednesday as the sell-off in technology stocks intensified.
The broad market index slid 0.51% and closed at 6,882.72, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 260.31 points, or 0.53%, and settled at 49,501.30. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.51% to end at 22,904.58.
Meanwhile, ADP on Wednesday released its monthly look at private payroll growth for January, which showed an increase of just 22,000 on the month. That’s below the gain of 45,000 jobs that was forecasted and widely reported in the media.