Sensex down 200 pts, Nifty below 24,800 as TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank lead losses

Laggards on the index included Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Titan Company, and Jio Financial Services.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex were off to a weak start on the bourses as trade deal worries continue to keep investors on edge. While a truce has been reached between the US-EU and the US-Japan, a deal with India is taking longer than initially anticipated. At open, Kotak Mahindra Bank and TCS led the losses.

At about 9:30 am, the Sensex was down 209.79 points or 0.26 percent at 81,253.30, and the Nifty was down 48.70 points or 0.20 percent at 24,788.30. About 1376 shares advanced, 1527 shares declined, and 165 shares were unchanged.

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"While the US has successfully sealed trade agreements with Japan and the EU—deals once seen as challenging—the anticipated India-US trade pact remains elusive, dampening investor confidence," says V K Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments. "Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 13,552 crore from the cash market last week, further dragging sentiment. Meanwhile, Q1 earnings so far have lacked any meaningful upside surprises, reinforcing the cautious mood," he added.

At market open on July 28, sectoral trends were mixed across the NSE indices. The Nifty IT index led the laggards, slipping 1.03 percent, weighed down by weak sentiment in large-cap tech stocks. Private banks also came under pressure, with the Nifty Private Bank index down 0.92 percent, while the broader Nifty Bank declined 0.23 percent.

On the other hand, Nifty Auto edged up 0.40 percent, showing early strength, while PSU Bank and Oil & Gas indices were marginally in the green, up 0.26 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively. The India VIX rose 4.43 percent to 11.78, indicating a rise in market volatility. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices hovered around the flatline, suggesting a cautious start to the session.

Also read: TCS job cuts worry brokerages as execution, attrition concerns emerge, stock slips

Among individual stocks, TCS shares were down 2 percent after Moneycontrol exclusively reported that the IT services firm will trim its workforce by two percent, impacting 12,000 jobs over FY2026. Jefferies, aling with other brokerages, noted that the plan to trim the workforce might lead to near-term execution slippages and higher long-term attrition. Going ahead, cost optimisation and AI-led productivity will drive most deal wins, and firms that are unable to gain market-share will have to resort to layoffs.

Shares of Shriram Finance rose 1 percent after the company posted a strong set of numbers for the first quarter of FY26. Standalone net profit rose 9 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,156 crore, while net interest income (NII) grew 12.6 percent to Rs 6,026 crore. HSBC, Jefferies, Nuvama, and Motilal Oswal have given bullish ratings on the stock.

Shares of private lender Kotak Mahindra slipped 7 percent after the bank's net profit took a 7 percent tumble. Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a standalone net profit of Rs 3,282 crore for Q1 FY26, marking a 7 percent year-on-year decline from Rs 3,520 crore in the same period last year. Going ahead, international brokerage Bernstein believes that the surge in credit costs and soft asset quality will continue to weigh on Kotak Mahindra Bank’s valuation.

Read more: TCS job cuts: How emergency fund, insurance coverage and robust financial plan can cushion the blow

Technical View

After a prolonged period of sideways movement, this close below the 25,000 level reinforces the dominance of bears and suggests limited upside potential in the near term. The tone for early next week remains negative as put writers are likely to continue repositioning at lower levels. Index has convincingly slipped below its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), currently placed at 24,950, which had previously offered strong support. This level will now act as immediate resistance. A sustained close below 24,800 could further accelerate the selling momentum, dragging the index toward the 24,600–24,500 zone.

Tata Motors, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Hero MotoCorp, and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Titan Company, and Jio Financial Services.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.