By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian shares inched lower on Tuesday as investors avoided making big bets ahead of the U.S. presidential election and lacklustre earnings and sustained foreign outflows continued to weigh on sentiment.
The NSE Nifty 50 was down 0.11% at 23,973 points as of 10:26 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.13% to 78,699.5.
Both benchmarks fell about 1.25% each on Monday, their biggest single-day loss since Oct. 3.
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remain virtually tied in opinion polls ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. election. The winner will likely not be known for days after voting ends.
A Trump win could lead to lower corporate tax rates in the U.S., which is expected to boost spending and, in turn, benefit several equity sectors in India, while a Harris victory is seen as a sign of policy continuity, a neutral-to-mildly-positive outcome for Indian stocks, according to analysts.
With Indian markets already trading at elevated valuations, uncertainty over the U.S. elections has served as a key catalyst for the ongoing correction, said Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities.
Lacklustre earnings and sustained foreign selling have also weighed on domestic equities over the last five weeks, with the Nifty 50 dropping 8.7% from record highs hit on Sept. 27.
Eight of the 13 major sectors declined on the day. The broader, more domestically focused small- and mid-caps dropped about 0.4% each.
Among individual stocks, Amara Raja Energy and Mobility fell 4.2% after posting its slowest profit growth in a year in the September quarter.
Gland Pharma rose 10%, on course for its biggest single-day gain in 15 months, lifting the pharma index 0.4%.
While the generic injectables maker posted a profit drop, its overall profit margin was better-than-expected due to its diverse segmental mix, said Motilal Oswal Financial Services, which forecast an earnings recovery for the company in fiscal year 2025-2027.
($1 = 84.1360 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Sonia Cheema)
