The market faced a steep decline as IT stocks led the way, erasing early gains made by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries. However, both companies’ shares initially rose on the back of their partnerships with Starlink, which both companies announced recently, before they began to tumble.
At 11:30 AM IST, Bharti Airtel’s shares were down 0.84% at ₹1,647.30, while Reliance Industries traded at ₹1,247.10, down 0.02%. Earlier in the session, Airtel had risen 3.37% to ₹1,717.25 and Reliance had increased 1.13% to ₹1,261.55, the momentum fueled by the companies’ partnerships with Elon Musk’s Starlink. However, when the broader market turned negative, these early gains were erased.
The benchmark indices also suffered from a loss, the BSE Sensex being down by 334.07 points (0.45%) to 73,768.25, and the NSE Nifty 50 down by 116.20 points (0.52%) to 22,381.70. The IT stocks were the leading cause of the decline; Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies were among the heavyweights that suffered losses. Infosys fell 5.38% to ₹1,571.20, Tech Mahindra declined 3.82% to ₹1,422.70, and HCL Technologies decreased 3.67% to ₹1,510.60.
This downward trend was seen in sectoral indices as well, with the Nifty IT index falling 3.94% to 35,928.05, and the Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom sliding 3.60% to 8,573.65. This sell-off in IT stocks, market analysts attribute to weak global cues and investor caution.
As of now, the market volatility is high and investors are uncertain about the market’s direction, especially with regard to IT stocks, which have recently been the main drivers of the market’s movements.
