By Bharath Rajeswaran and Indranil Sarkar
(Reuters) -Indian shares gave up opening gains to inch lower on Friday, as worries over moderation in corporate earnings overpowered optimism about lower U.S. interest rates and oil prices.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.3% to 23,137.25 points as of 10:19 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.25% to 76,334.03.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, sending Wall Street equities and other Asian markets higher. [MKTS/GLOB]
Lower U.S. rates could lead to foreign inflows into emerging markets such as India, while lower oil prices are also a positive for net oil-importing countries, including India.
Those comments helped the Indian market in early trade before concerns over Trump’s tariff plans and domestic earnings resurfaced.
“While Trump rooting for lower interest rates and lower oil prices overnight is a sentimental positive, the uncertainty over his tariff policies still remains and it’s an evolving situation,” said Raghvendra Nath, managing director at Ladderup Wealth Management.
Besides, domestic earnings have been “disappointing” and will continue to hurt the momentum and pile pressure on equities, Nath said.
The broader, more domestically focussed smallcaps and midcaps fell 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively.
Among stocks, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories fell 4.7% after missing the third-quarter profit estimates on weak drug pricing. It was the top loser on the pharma index, which was down 1.8%.
Engineering and technology firm Cyient tumbled 19% after reporting third-quarter profit below analysts’ expectations.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank and Suryoday Small Finance Bank lost about 5.5% each, after the two lenders posted a drop in their quarterly profit.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Eileen Soreng and Savio D’Souza)
