By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks reversed early gains on Tuesday, as a pullback in financials and U.S.-China trade frictions overpowered post-earnings gains in IT firm HCLTech, while LG Electronics India soared over 50% in a stellar market debut.
The Nifty 50 was down 0.32% at 25,146.2, while the BSE Sensex nudged 0.35% lower to 82,037.46, as of 11:39 a.m. IST. Both benchmarks rose about 0.3% in early trade before reversing course.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell about 0.7% each.
All 16 major sectors declined. Financials, banks and private lenders each dropped about 0.6%, while state-owned banks lost 1.5%. The indexes retreated after three sessions of gains on profit booking.
Other Asian markets fell 0.9% on U.S.-China trade uncertainty even as the U.S. stuck a conciliatory tone on trade tensions with China after threatening steep tariffs on Beijing on Friday. [MKTS/GLOB]
“The overall sentiment remains guarded as caution prevails, keeping markets under a slight negative bias amid U.S.-China trade tensions and quarterly earnings,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.
Among stocks, LG Electronics India, which is not part of the benchmarks, listed at a whopping 50% premium over its issue price, making it the best stock market debut for a billion-dollar IPO since Eternal in 2021.
The $1.3-billion maiden share sale by the company last week became the most subscribed billion-dollar IPO in nearly two decades.
HCLTech , the country’s third-largest software services exporter, rose 0.5%, after the company maintained its annual revenue growth forecast of 3%-5% and beat second-quarter revenue estimates.
Among other stocks, private lender RBL Bank rose 1% on reports of advanced talks with Dubai-based Emirates NBD for a stake sale.
While official confirmation is awaited, the entry of a large, well-capitalised global promoter like Emirates NBB could boost investor confidence and support a potential re-rating, said ICICI Direct Research
($1 = 88.6740 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sonia Cheema)
