Opening bell: Sensex, Nifty to open lower as Trump raises tariffs; LIC, Titan, Eternal, Hero MotoCorp, BHEL, IRCON shares in focus

Indian benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, are poised to open lower on Thursday, undermining firm cues from global peers, after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs on Indian goods over its purchases of Russian energy. At 8:15, GIFT Nifty futures were down 66 points at 24,563, indicating a gap-down opening for the benchmark indices.

After his stern warning to raise duties on Indian exports "substantially," Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil, thus taking the overall tariff rate on the country’s exports to 50%. While the initial tariff of 25% is applicable from August 1, the new tax levy will be effective after 21 days, i.e., August 27.

On Wednesday, the Indian share market ended marginally lower after the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by governor Sanjay Malhotra, decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.5%. The 30-share Sensex closed 166.26 points lower at 80,543.99, while the Nifty50 dropped 75.35 points to settle at 24,574.20. The broader market also witnessed selling pressure, with the NSE Midcap and Smallcap indices losing 0.8% and 1%, respectively.

Apple propel U.S. stocks higher

Wall Street ended higher in overnight trade as investors shifted focus to corporate earnings reports amid persistent concerns about trade negotiations. The S&P 500 rose 0.73%, the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.21%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.18%.

The upmove was driven by a 5% rally in Apple shares, which posted their biggest daily gain since early May, after a White House official said the iPhone maker would invest $100 billion in domestic manufacturing, taking its total U.S. investment to $600 billion over the next four years.

Asian markets rise as traders shrug off Trump’s chip tariffs

Equity markets in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly higher on Thursday as investors seemed to downplay concerns over fresh U.S. tariffs on semiconductor imports announced by President Donald Trump. Last night, Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on computer chips and semiconductors. The announcement came three months after he temporarily exempted most electronics from the retrospective tariff list.

Despite trade tensions, market sentiment remained resilient, with key indices in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore posting decent gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 0.75%, South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.5%, and Singapore’s Straits Times climbed 0.7%. Taiwan’s Weighted Index rallied over 2%, while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite rose 0.7%.

On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite were down 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively, while Australia’s ASX 200 ended 0.2% lower.

Stocks to watch

Q1 results: Life Insurance Corporation of India, Titan Company, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Godrej Consumer Products, Biocon, General Insurance Corporation of India, Cummins India, National Aluminium Company, Kalyan Jewellers India, Bajaj Electricals, Birlasoft, Kalpataru Projects International, Apollo Tyres, Data Patterns (India), Edelweiss Financial Services, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Indigo Paints, Medi Assist Healthcare Services, Page Industries, Ramco Cements, Shree Renuka Sugars, and others will release their June quarter earnings reports today.

Eternal (Zomato) : Alibaba-backed Antfin Singapore Holding Pte Ltd is looking to sell its entire stake in online food delivery company for ₹5,375 crore through block deal.

Bharat Forge : The company has signed a business transfer agreement (BTA) with its subsidiary, Kalyani Strategic Systems (KSSL), for the transfer of its defence business to KSSL for ₹453.3 crore.

Hindustan Copper : The company has entered into a pact with GAIL (India) to to jointly participate in auctions for copper and critical mineral blocks.

Hero MotoCorp:  The auto major reported a marginal rise in consolidated net profit by 0.3% YoY to ₹1,125.7 crore, while revenue declined 5.6% to ₹9,578.9 crore in Q1 FY26.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL):  The PSU saw its net loss widen to ₹455.5 crore from ₹211.4 crore, though revenue remained flat at ₹5,486.9 crore.

IRCON International:  The PSU reported a 26.5% fall in profit to ₹164.6 crore, while revenue slipped 21.9% to ₹1,786.3 crore, due to slower project execution.

Trent:  The Tata Group company saw its net profit rising 8.6% YoY to ₹424.7 crore and revenue surging 19% to ₹4,883.5 crore.

Fortis Healthcare: The company posted a 53.3% jump in profit to ₹266.8 crore compared to ₹174 crore last year. Revenue grew 16.6% to ₹2,166.7 crore, driven by improved operational metrics.

Raymond: The net profit of the company declined by 8.8% to ₹20.6 crore even as revenue jumped 16.6% to ₹524.3 crore.

Jindal Stainless: The company posted a 10.2% increase in net profit to ₹714.2 crore, with revenue rising 8.2% to ₹10,207.1 crore.

Raymond Lifestyle: The company narrowed its losses to ₹19.8 crore from ₹23.2 crore YoY, with revenue growing 17.2% to ₹1,430.4 crore, pointing to an improvement in retail and branded apparel performance.

VIP Industries: The company swung to a loss of ₹13.1 crore from a profit of ₹4.04 crore a year earlier, as revenue fell 12.1% to ₹561.4 crore.

Sula Vineyards: The firm saw a sharp 86.7% plunge in profit to ₹1.94 crore, with revenue declining 7.9% to ₹118.3 crore.

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO): The company reported a 13% increase in profit to ₹630.2 crore.

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