Sensex, Nifty50 edge lower in morning trade, dragged by Infosys, Wipro and realty stocks

• India’s equity markets edged lower in morning trade on Wednesday amid negative cues in global markets as the debt ceiling talks continue in the US.
  
• The indices were dragged down by IT majors Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech, apart from realty stocks.
  
• Both Sensex and Nifty50 were down by 0.1% in morning trade, with Sensex hovering at 61,855 points and Nifty50 at 18,272 points.

India’s equity markets edged lower in morning trade on Wednesday amid negative cues in global markets as the debt ceiling talks continue in the US. The indices were dragged down by IT majors Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech, apart from realty stocks.

Both Sensex and Nifty50 were down by 0.1% in morning trade, with Sensex hovering at 61,855 points and Nifty50 at 18,272 points.

Top gainers and losers on Nifty50

Top gainers	Change	Top losers	Change
Hero MotoCorp	2.23%	HCL Tech	-0.82%
Bharat Petroleum	1.63%	Kotak Mahindra Bank	-0.81%
UPL	1.06%	Infosys	-0.74%
IndusInd Bank	1.04%	Eicher Motors	-0.72%
Cipla	0.99%	Wipro	-0.71%

Source: NSE, as on May 17, 2023
Earlier on Monday, both the indices ended on a negative note amid heightened volatility in equity markets around the world – both Sensex and Nifty50 closed the day with a decline of 0.6%.

Gold and silver prices edged lower, with gold at ₹60,200 per 10 grams while silver was hovering at ₹72,600 per kilogram. Crude oil prices edged up, with Brent crude hovering at $75 per barrel.

Debt ceiling talks weigh down equity markets

Amidst an ongoing debt ceiling debate in the US, investor sentiments remained volatile around the world. While the Dow Jones closed 1% down on Tuesday, S&P 500 shed 0.64%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.18%.

Asian markets were mixed, with Taiwan Weighted gaining 1.13%, followed by Nikkei 225 which was up 0.65% and KOSPI which was 0.55% in the green. Hang Seng was down 0.33%, while Shanghai Composite was trading 0.11% lower.

Stocks to watch

Bharti Airtel: The automaker reported a 50% on year rise in net profit at ₹3,006 crore for March quarter while revenue rose 14% on year to ₹36,009 crore. For FY23, Airtel’s net profit nearly doubled to ₹8,346 crore.

Adani Group: The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a batch of public interest litigations (PILs) seeking an investigation into the Adani Group - Hindenburg report issue.

Infosys: The IT major has bagged a deal from energy company BP to be their primary partner for en-to-end application services. As per reports, the deal size is $1.5 billion making it a mega deal at a time when the industry has been facing several headwinds.

Tata Consumer Products: The company will delist its global depository receipts (GDRs) from the London Stock Exchange and Luxembourg Stock Exchange from June 23 this year.

Jindal Steel and Power: The steelmaker has reported a 69% decline in net profit at ₹462 crore for March quarter from ₹1,511 crore last year due to higher expenses. Revenues also fell 4% on year to ₹13,691 crore.

Earnings today: Jindal Saw, Jubilant Foodworks, JK Tyre & Industries, Teamlease Services, Sterlite Technologies, Endurance Technologies, SKF India, Honeywell Automation India, Devyani International, Timken India, Zydus Wellness, MTAR Technologies, Railtel Corporation of India, Eris Lifesciences among companies to release its March quarter earnings today.