The SENSEX fell as much as 781.58 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,011 as of 10:19 am on Friday, April 24, dragging down Indian equity benchmarks sharply lower. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, Cyient shares fell sharply in early trade, down 4.16% to ₹897 after the engineering services company reported a steep sequential and year-on-year decline in quarterly profit. The selloff mirrored losses in other Asian markets as crude oil prices remained above $9,082 per barrel in international markets despite US President Donald Trump saying that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. Asian markets were trading lower with China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declining 0.6%, South Korea's KOSPI dropping 0.24% while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4%. Overnight, US stocks ended lower with Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.36%, S&P 500 index declining 0.41% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropping 0.9% after profit booking following S&P 500's record high during the session.
Cyient reported a Q4 consolidated net profit of ₹54.80 crore, down sharply from ₹91.8 crore in the previous quarter, while revenue rose to ₹1,930 crore from ₹1,850 crore quarter-on-quarter, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The numbers were tagged neutral by the street but the profit miss weighed on sentiment. The board-approved buyback covers up to 6.4 million shares worth ₹720 crore via tender offer, with promoters opting out entirely. Morgan Stanley maintained an Underweight rating with a target of ₹1,050, noting that while Transportation and Mobility performed ahead of expectations, the decline in Strategic Units was sharper than estimated. The brokerage acknowledged the buyback could lend some support and that the stock trades cheap, but said investors would want to see consistent growth in the DET business before turning constructive. Choice International retained a medium-term constructive view with a sum-of-the-parts target price of ₹1,250 based on FY28 estimates, citing stable margins and improving order intake.
HCLTech reported a 4.20% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹4,488 crore for Q4 FY26, up from ₹4,307 crore in the same period of FY25, as reported by Upstox. However, the company's revenue from operations rose 12.34% to ₹33,981 crore in Q4 FY26, compared to ₹30,246 crore seen in Q4 FY25. The Q4FY26 dollar revenue declined 3.3% quarter-on-quarter to USD 3,682 million, missing the company's earlier guidance of 4–4.5% growth. A major concern was the sharp fall in net new deal wins, which came in at just USD 1.9 billion, marking a 35% year-on-year decline. The weak deal flow raised questions around growth visibility, particularly in Europe, where demand appears to be softening. Profitability also disappointed with EBIT margin of 16.5%, well below the Street's expectation of around 17.6%, indicating pressure from lower utilisation, restructuring costs and challenging pricing environment. The company attributed the broad band of guidance to market volatility, reduced discretionary spend, and two client-specific situations where it expects some ramp-downs. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the weaker commentary on demand and near-term growth visibility triggered concerns around the sector's earnings trajectory. The company also declared an interim dividend of ₹24 per share.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Tata Consultancy Services reported 1.2% constant currency growth, well ahead of *Wipro's 0.2% and HCL Tech's -3.3%**. TCS also maintained profitability with an EBIT margin of 25.3%, compared with 17.3% at Wipro and 16.54% at HCL Technologies. In terms of deal momentum, TCS reported total contract value (TCV) of USD 12 billion, significantly higher than *Wipro's USD 3.5 billion and HCL Tech's USD 1.936 billion. While TCS comfortably met its guidance, Wipro barely did so, and HCL fell short. In terms of revenue performance, HCL Technologies lagged peers across metrics, with rupee revenue growing just 0.3% QoQ, compared with 5.4% for TCS and 2.7% for Wipro, while dollar revenue declined 3.3% QoQ, against modest growth at its peers. The negative read-across pulled Infosys, TCS, and mid-cap IT names sharply lower, reflecting deeper structural concerns about slowing global tech spending and rising AI-linked investment costs beginning to compress margin expectations across the sector.
Tata Consumer Products emerged as the top gainer, rising 3.33%, followed by Hindustan Unilever (up 2.39%), NTPC (up 2.26%), Tata Motors PV (up 1.74%), and Hindalco Industries (up 1.65%), as reported by Upstox. The NIFTY Midcap 100 advanced 0.19% or 114.90 points to close at 60,201.60, with top gainers including IREDA (up 9.18%), Exide Industries (up 6.44%), and Tube Investments of India (up 4.81%). However, NIFTY Smallcap 100 declined 198.85 points or 1.13% to end at 16,928.90, with Zensar Technologies (down 3.74%) and CDSL (down 2.87%) among the top losers. According to Amit Goel, Chief Global Strategist at PACE 360, the current weakness is largely driven by geopolitical uncertainty and elevated crude prices rather than any structural deterioration. "Today's fall in the Indian stock market can be attributed to the uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran war and crude oil hovering around $85 per barrel. Rather than focusing only on Nifty 50, investors should track Bank Nifty, as it holds the key to overall market direction," he said. On the BSE, 2,391 stocks advanced against 1,895 declines, a markedly narrower breadth compared to Tuesday, with 152 stocks hitting 52-week lows - a figure worth watching.
