Opening bell: Sensex, Nifty set for sharp gap-down opening on Trump’s tariff warning; TCS, DMart, IREDA, HUL, Zee shares in focus

The Indian equity benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50, are poised for a sharp gap-down opening on Friday, despite firm cues from global markets. Investor sentiment has turned cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of imposing steep tariffs on countries such as India and China for continuing to import Russian energy. At 8:00 AM, the GIFT Nifty futures were trading 122 points lower at 25,281, indicating a weak start for Indian stock markets.

Trump stated he would strongly consider supporting a new Russia sanctions bill, introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year, which proposes a 500% tariff on nations purchasing Russian energy—a move aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.

On Thursday, the Indian equity markets extended their decline for the second consecutive session on Thursday, pressured by weakness in IT stocks ahead of the Q1FY25 results of bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The BSE Sensex ended the session at 83,190.28, down by 345.8 points or 0.41%, while the NSE Nifty50 settled 120.85 points lower at 25,355.25, a decline of 0.47%. In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap 100 fell 0.32%, while the Nifty SmallCap index dropped 0.3%.

U.S. stocks extend rally, Nasdaq, S&P hit record highs

U.S. stocks continued their upward momentum on Thursday, notching up fresh record highs for the second straight session, buoyed by positive labour market data. Weekly jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000, according to the latest report from the U.S. Labor Department. AI chipmaker Nvidia made headlines by closing with a $4-trillion market valuation for the first time, becoming the world’s first publicly traded company to reach this landmark. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43%, the S&P 500 gained 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite ended slightly higher, up 0.09%.

Asian markets follow Wall Street higher

Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region traded higher on Friday, following overnight gains on Wall Street. Investors digested the latest tariff-related comments from Trump while keeping a close watch on potential trade agreements with major U.S. partners, including China, Japan, and India.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied over 1.5%, followed by China’s Shanghai Composite, which surged over 0.7% in early trade. Among others, Singapore’s Straits Times, Taiwan’s Weighted Index, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite rose between 0.1% and 0.5%. Bucking the trend, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, and Australia’s ASX 200 were trading marginally lower by 0.1% each.

Stocks to watch today

Q1 results: Avenue Supermarts (DMart), Aditya Birla Money, Droneacharya Aerial Innovations, Elecon Engineering Company, Emerald Finance, Jagsonpal Finance & Leasing, Nath Bio-Genes (India), and Astonea Labs are set to release their quarterly earnings reports today.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS ): The IT bellwether has posted a 6% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated net profit for Q1FY26 (April-June), reaching ₹12,760 crore compared to ₹12,040 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Tata Elxsi:  The Tata group company reported a 21.6% YoY decline in net profit for Q1FY26, which fell to ₹144.4 crore from ₹184 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA):  The PSU company reported a 35.7% YoY fall in consolidated net profit to ₹246.9 crore in Q1FY26, from ₹383.7 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Anand Rathi Wealth: The brokerage firm has posted a a 27.9% YoY rise in consolidated net profit for Q1FY26, at ₹93.9 crore compared to ₹73.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL):  Rohit Jawa will step down as Managing Director and CEO effective July 31. The Board has named Priya Nair as his successor for a five-year term starting August 1.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises:  The company failed to secure shareholder approval to issue warrants, blocking the promoter family’s plan to raise its stake. The resolution reportedly garnered only 59.5% approval, below the required 75%.

SBI Cards and Payment Services: Chief Risk Officer Shantanu Srivastava has tendered his resignation, effective October 6, 2025, citing personal reasons.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals:  The drug maker informed exchanges that IGI Therapeutics SA, a subsidiary of Ichnos Glenmark Innovation Inc., has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with AbbVie for its lead candidate, ISB 2001, developed using IGI’s BEAT protein platform.

Aegis Logistics: Aegis has transferred its 48,000 MT LPG terminal at Pipavav to Aegis Vopak Terminals through a slump sale on a going concern basis, valued at ₹428.4 crore.

International Travel House: The board has approved the reappointment of Ashwin Moodliar as Managing Director for a two-year term beginning February 1, 2026. His current tenure concludes on January 31, 2026.

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