Indian Markets Slip as Profit-Taking Dampens Sentiment

Mumbai, November 7 — India’s stock markets opened lower on Thursday as investors booked profits following strong gains in October, even as positive corporate earnings and progress in India-US trade talks offered some support.

At 11:35 am, the BSE Sensex was down 0.21% at 83,134.30 points, while the Nifty 50 fell 0.22% to 25,454.35 points. Both indices have lost around 1.5% so far this week, after a 4.5% rally in October. All 16 major sectors opened in negative territory.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, TCS, and Maruti Suzuki were the top losers. On the other hand, ITC, ICICI Bank, and Eternal Ltd. saw modest gains. Bharti Airtel shares fell up to 4% after a 5.1 crore share block deal, following reports that Singapore’s Singtel is offloading its stake at a 3.1% discount.

Amber Enterprises plunged 12.5% after posting a Q2 FY26 loss due to a slowdown in the consumer durables segment, while Crompton Greaves declined 2% after a dip in quarterly profits. Lupin gained 1.3% and LIC of India rose 1% on stronger quarterly earnings.

Retail investors continued to support the market, with domestic institutions purchasing stocks worth ₹5,283.91 crore. Meanwhile, foreign investors offloaded equities worth ₹3,263.21 crore, creating pressure on the indices.

Trading sentiment remains cautious as investors weigh global interest rate trends and domestic growth factors. While short-covering could trigger a market reversal, there are currently no clear catalysts to change the downward trend.