Opening bell: Sensex, Nifty set to open lower; SBI, Bharti Airtel, LIC, Titan, Biocon, BSE, HPCL shares in focus

The Indian equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are set to open lower on the last day of the week, tracking mixed cues from global peers amid persistent concerns about the steep U.S. tariffs on India. At 8:20, the GIFT Nifty futures were down 52 points at 24,643, signalling a weak opening for the benchmark indices.

On Thursday, the Indian equity markets ended higher in choppy trade, shrugging off early jitters sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of fresh tariffs on Indian imports. After falling nearly 0.9% in early trade, the benchmark indices recovered smartly and ended in positive terrain, driven by value buying in IT and pharma stocks.

Paring early losses, the BSE Sensex ended 79.27 points, or 0.1%, higher at 80,623, while the NSE Nifty closed up by 21.95 points, or 0.09%, at 24,596.15. The broader indices also settled in positive territory. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed 0.33% higher, while the Nifty SmallCap rose 0.17%.

Dow, S&P 500 end lower; Nasdaq closes higher

In overnight trade, U.S. stocks ended mixed amid renewed concerns over trade tensions, as Trump's higher tariffs on imports from several countries took effect on Thursday, pushing the average U.S. import duty to its highest level in a century. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.51%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.08%. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.35% after Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of around 100% on imported chips and semiconductors.

Asian stocks mixed; Japan surges over 2% on tariff relief

Asian shares traded on a mixed note on Friday, tracking subdued cues from Wall Street, while the Japanese market rallied over 2% on U.S. tariff relief. The market sentiment got a boost amid hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve will go for rate cut in the near term, while healthy corporate earnings also added to the optimism.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.1% and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite rose 0.8%, while Taiwan’s Weighted Index and China’s Shanghai Composite were trading marginally higher.  

On the other hand, key indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore were trading in negative terrain, falling by up to 0.4%, while Australia’s ASX 200 ended a tad lower.

Stocks to watch

Q1 results: Big players such as State Bank of India , Tata Motors , Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, Afcons Infrastructure, Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company, DOMS Industries, Equitas Small Finance Bank, ESAF Small Finance Bank, Gandhar Oil Refinery, Grasim Industries, Lemon Tree Hotels, Manappuram Finance, Info Edge (India), Siemens, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Voltas, and Wockhardt will announce their June quarter results today.

Bharti Airtel : The telco’s promoter entity Indian Continent Investment is expected to offload a 0.8% equity stake in Bharti Airtel through a block deal today.

AU Small Finance Bank : The small finance bank has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transition from a small finance bank to a universal bank.

Zydus Lifesciences:  The drug maker has received its first Notice of Compliance (NOC) in Canada from Health Canada for its ZDS-Varenicline tablets (0.5 mg and 1 mg).

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC):  The country’s largest insurer has posted a 3.9% YoY rise in consolidated net profit at ₹10,957 crore in Q1, while net premium income grew 4.7% to ₹1,19,618.4 crore from ₹1,14,230.2 crore.

Titan Company : The Tata group company’s consolidated net profit jumped 52.6% YoY to ₹1,091 crore from ₹715 crore. Revenue rose 24.6% to ₹16,523 crore compared to ₹13,266 crore in the year-ago period.

Biocon : The biopharma company’s Q1 consolidated net profit plunge 95.2% YoY to ₹31.4 crore from ₹659.7 crore, while revenue increased 14.8% to ₹3,941.9 crore.

General Insurance Corporation of India:  The company reported a 80.7% YoY growth in consolidated profit to ₹2,530.6 crore in Q1 FY26, while the net premium income rose 11.6% to ₹11,274 crore.

Cummins India: The company posted a 40.4% rise in standalone net profit to ₹589.3 crore for Q1, compared to ₹419.8 crore last year. Revenue increased 26.2% to ₹2,906.8 crore.

BSE:  The exchange’s consolidated profit more than doubled, surging 103.5% to ₹539.4 crore from ₹265 crore YoY. Revenue rose 59.2% to ₹958.4 crore.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) : The PSU oil company posted a multi-fold jump in its consolidated profit to ₹4,110.9 crore from ₹633.9 crore in the year ago period.

Sun TV Network: The company reported a 5.4% YoY decline in consolidated profit at ₹529.1 crore and a 1.8% drop in revenue to ₹1,290.3 crore.

Medi Assist Healthcare Services: The company reported a 19% YoY increase in consolidated profit at ₹22.4 crore and a 13.6% rise in revenue to ₹190.6 crore in Q1 FY26.

Godrej Consumer Products: The company posted a marginal 0.4% rise in profit at ₹452.5 crore and a 9.9% increase in revenue to ₹3,661.9 crore.

Kalyan Jewellers: The company recorded a 48.7% YoY surge in profit at ₹264.1 crore, while revenue grew 31.5% to ₹7,268.5 crore in Q1 FY26.

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