Gap-down opening seen for Sensex, Nifty; Wipro, Infosys, BHEL, Tata Steel, Jio Financial shares in focus

The Indian stock market is expected to open lower on Thursday amid mixed cues from global peers, and weak trends in GIFT Nifty futures. At 8:20 AM, the GIFT Nifty index was down 90 points, or 0.38%, at 23,378, indicating a gap-down opening for the equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty.

D-Street will also see stock-specific reactions as Wipro released its Q4 results after market hours on Wednesday, while Infosys , Jio Financial, HDFC AMC, HDFC Life will unveil their earnings reports today.

On Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended 0.5% higher as the recovery phase continued amid renewed buying interest in heavyweight stocks across sectors. The 30-share Sensex rose 309 points, or 0.4%, to reclaim the 77,000 level, and the Nifty50 added 109 points, or 0.47%, to settle at the 23,437 mark. Outperforming the benchmark indices, the broader indices also posted healthy gains, ranging from 0.63% to 1%. Investors reacted positively to favourable cues, including the update on a normal monsoon and further easing of retail inflation, while the absence of any negative surprises from global markets also supported the Indian market.

U.S. stocks end sharply lower on economic growth concerns

In overnight trade, Wall Street closed sharply lower as sentiments were dented by Nvidia’s chip export woes and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s concerns about slowing economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 700 points, or 1.73%, the S&P 500 lost 2.24%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.07% amid a sell-off in Nvidia and other chip manufacturers. 

American chipmaker Nvidia said that it would take a hit of $5.5 billion after the U.S. government limited exports of its H20 artificial intelligence chip to China. Fed Chair Powell also cautioned that larger-than-expected tariffs would lead to higher inflation and slower growth. Powell, however, said that the central bank would wait for more data on the economy's direction before making any changes in the interest rates cycle.

Asian markets edge higher

In the Asia-Pacific region, most equity markets edged higher, barring Taiwan, undermining weak cues from U.S. stocks. The sentiment was lifted as futures on Wall Street rebounded after key benchmark indices ended sharply lower in regular trading on Wednesday. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.85% and 0.6%, respectively, while Hong Kong emerged as the biggest gainer in the region, with the Hang Seng index rallying over 1%. Singapore’s Straits Times was also up 0.9%, while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite traded higher by 0.35%. China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.15% in early trade. On the other hand, Taiwan's weighted index was down nearly 0.9%, whereas Australia’s ASX 200 index closed 0.38% higher.

Stocks to watch

Q4 results: Infosys, Jio Financial Services, HDFC AMC, HDFC Life, and 6 other companies will announce their results today.

Wipro: The IT major has reported a 26% YoY growth in its net profit at ₹3,569.6 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025, while its revenue rose marginally by 1.3% to ₹22,504.2 crore.

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure: The company, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, saw its consolidated net profit falling 13.3% YoY to ₹3.2 crore in Q4FY25 due to lower utilisation of infrastructure assets. Total consolidated income dropped 8.5% YoY to ₹18.9 crore.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL): The PSU has signed a technology transfer agreement with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for electrolyser systems for hydrogen production.

Tata Steel : Tata Steel Nederland has inked a pact to set up the world’s first liquid hydrogen import corridor between Oman, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Hero MotoCorp : The two-wheeler maker has announced a temporary production pause from April 17-19 at four of its manufacturing plants—Dharuhera, Gurugram, Haridwar, and Neemrana—amid short-term supply alignment.

UltraTech Cement : The Aditya Biral Group flagship will acquire 26% stake in AMPIN C&I Power Eight, engaged in generation and transmission of renewable energy, for ₹25 crore.

HUL and Honasa Consumer: The FMCG major has moved Bombay High Court against Mamaearth’s parent for disparaging its brand.

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