Sensex, Nifty edge lower amid negative global cues

The key equity benchmarks declined in afternoon trade as weakness in European markets and mixed Asian cues weighed on investor sentiment. The Nifty held above the 22,700 mark, while healthcare stocks extended their gains for a second consecutive trading session.

At 13:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 226.69 points or 0.31% to 73,380.06. The Nifty 50 index fell 52.45 points or 0.23% to 22,700.75.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index advanced 0.92% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 1.77%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,783 shares rose and 1,380 shares fell. A total of 235 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.36% to 16.76.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Healthcare Index rose 1.87% to 15,952.10, after advancing 1.77% in the previous session. Mankind Pharma led the gainers with a rise of 8.73%, followed by Gland Pharma (up 4.79%), Divi's Laboratories (up 4.19%), KIMS (up 3.48%) and Laurus Labs (up 3.06%). Aurobindo Pharma gained 2.44%, Ipca Laboratories rose 2.14%, and Max Healthcare advanced 2.07%. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Biocon, Zydus Lifesciences and Torrent Pharmaceuticals climbed 1.19%, 1.16%, 1.03%, 0.99% and 0.91%, respectively. Alkem Laboratories, Abbott India, Apollo Hospitals, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Fortis Healthcare also ended higher. Cipla declined 0.32%, while Lupin fell 0.44%.

Mankind Pharma jumped after reporting strong financial results for Q2 FY27, with revenue, EBITDA and net profit increasing year on year. The company's profit after tax rose 37.7% year on year to Rs 716 crore from Rs 520 crore. Sequentially, net profit increased 24.7% from Rs 574 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 17.3% year on year to Rs 4,338 crore from Rs 3,697 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue grew 7.6% from Rs 4,031 crore.

Stocks in Spotlight:

OneSource Specialty Pharma shares rose 11.27% after the company reported strong Q2 FY27 results, with revenue and adjusted net profit increasing year on year. The company's adjusted net profit rose 108.69% year on year to Rs 93.7 crore from Rs 44.9 crore in Q2 FY26. Sequentially, adjusted net profit increased 47.25% from Rs 63.7 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 37.39% year on year to Rs 516.24 crore from Rs 375.76 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue rose 14.97% from Rs 449.02 crore in Q1 FY27.

Aequs tumbled 10.37% after the company?s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 52.39 crore in Q2 FY27 compared with net loss of Rs 20.59 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations soared 45.27% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 409.07 crore in Q2 FY27, supported by growth across its aerospace and consumer businesses.

Global Market:

European indices opened lower on Tuesday as investors assessed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices and the outlook for global interest rates. Caution also prevailed ahead of major US technology earnings and key central bank policy decisions.

Asian equities traded mixed on Tuesday, as the filing for artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic's planned initial public offering revived appetite for technology stocks ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and central bank decisions.

South Korea's economy grew 3.4% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, slowing from 3.7% in the previous quarter, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed on Tuesday. GDP expanded 1.0% quarter on quarter, accelerating from 0.6% in the April-June quarter. Semiconductor exports and investment in production equipment supported the expansion, although private consumption fell 0.2% quarter on quarter.

Wall Street ended higher on Monday, 26 October 2026. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to 52,361.58. The S&P 500 gained 53.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,676.77, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 214.04 points, or 0.83%, to 26,169.38. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 2.8%, marking its biggest one-day gain in a month, as chip-related shares led the recovery. The technology sector gained 1.5%, leading the S&P 500's 11 major sectors.

Anthropic's IPO filing helped revive the AI trade by highlighting rapid revenue growth alongside the substantial costs and risks of developing advanced AI systems. The company's first-half 2026 net loss widened to $80.7 billion, largely because of a non-operating accounting item related to convertible bonds. Its operating loss narrowed to $693 million, while adjusted operating income turned positive at $1.62 billion, compared with a loss of $1.85 billion a year earlier. Revenue grew 1,368% year on year in the three months ended 30 June 2026. The filing also highlighted risks linked to infrastructure costs, cloud-provider dependence and AI safety.

Individual stocks reflected renewed interest in AI infrastructure. Lumentum gained about 8% and Coherent rose around 6%, while Tesla advanced 5.2% after a Barclays upgrade. Meta Platforms fell 1.9% after announcing plans to raise up to $95 billion through equity offerings to fund its AI infrastructure expansion. The fundraising includes about $35 billion in public offerings and a separate share-sale programme of up to $60 billion. Meta's plans underscore investor scrutiny of the financing required to sustain AI-related capital expenditure.

Economic data offered a mixed signal on US activity and price pressures. The Dallas Federal Reserve's general business activity index rose to 13.4 in October from 9.8 in September, exceeding the 8.8 consensus forecast. However, the production index fell to 15.8 from 29.5, and the new-orders index declined to 9.3 from 30.7. The survey also showed the raw-materials price index rising to 55.3 from 52.2, pointing to continued input-cost pressure.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News