At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 160.29 points or 0.22% to 74,177.60. The Nifty 50 index lost 37.15 points or 0.16% to 22,533.20.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.49% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.27%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,944 shares rose and 1,466 shares fell. A total of 189 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The second phase of voting, scheduled for April 26, encompasses 89 constituencies across 13 states and Union territories. The BJP seeks a third consecutive term, while the opposition, including the Congress, has united under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc to thwart PM Modi's re-election. The extensive Lok Sabha elections 2024 span seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with the results set to be announced on June 4.

Results Today :

Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.43%), HCL Technologies (up 1.11%), Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC (down 0.08%), Bajaj Finserv (down 3.03%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 0.05%), Shriram Finance (up 1.26%), Bajaj Holdings & Investment (down 0.81%), CSB Bank (up 0.43%), Eveready Industries India (up 5.93%), Force Motors (down 1.19%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.22%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.75%), Mastek (up 1.83%), Motilal Oswal Financial Services (down 0.73%), and SBI Cards and Payment Services (up 0.34%) will announce their quarterly earnings later in the day.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT Index gained 1.59% to 34,089.55. The index rallied 1.93% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Tech Mahindra (up 10.96%), Mphasis (up 4.25%), LTIMindtree (up 3.39%), Coforge (up 2.71%), Wipro (up 1.87%), Persistent Systems (up 1.55%), HCL Technologies (up 1.22%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.26%) and Infosys (up 0.13%) advanced.

Tech Mahindra surged 10.96% after the IT major's consolidated net profit jumped 29.51% to Rs 661 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 510.4 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 12,871.3 crore in the March quarter, down 1.76% from Rs 13,101.3 crore recorded in the preceding quarter of FY24.

On a year on year (YoY) basis, Tech Mahindra's net profit dropped 40.86% while revenue fell 6.17% in Q4 FY24.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) tumbled 8.42%. The IT major's consolidated net profit rose 1.4% to Rs 340.9 crore on 4.8% rise in revenue to Rs 2537.5 crore in Q4 FY24 over Q3 FY24.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Som Distilleries & Breweries added 1.17% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 17.97% to Rs 18.84 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 15.97 crore in Q4 FY23.

Schaeffler India shed 0.83%. The company has reported 3.8% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 227.67 crore on a 9.2% increase in net sales to Rs 1,849.22 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.