By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks slipped on Tuesday as profit booking led by IT stocks outweighed earnings-driven gains in Bharti Airtel and Titan Company.
The Nifty 50 eased 0.64% to 25,597.65, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.62% to 83,459.15.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively.
Analysts expect the benchmarks to consolidate near current levels after a sharp 4.5% rise in October, that was driven by stable quarterly earnings and strong festival season sales.
“Broad macro indicators reinforce our optimism around a cyclical recovery starting second half of fiscal year 2026, led by discretionary consumption,” Emkay Global Financial Services said.
Investors also awaited clarity on India-U.S. trade talks. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said last month that India would not accept limits on its trade options or rush into agreements, even as a senior official described a deal with Washington as “very near.”
Markets are closed on Wednesday for a local holiday.
The IT index was among the top two drags on the Nifty on Tuesday, falling 1.1% as mixed signals from U.S. Federal Reserve officials clouded expectations of a December rate cut.
Bharti Airtel rose 1.9% to record high after the country’s second-largest mobile carrier by number of users posted a surge in quarterly profit.
Titan Company gained 2.3% and hit a one-year high after reporting higher-than-expected profit in the September quarter.
Mahindra & Mahindra rose 0.9%, after the automaker posted higher profit on strong sales of sport-utility vehicles, while India’s largest lender State Bank of India added 0.8% as profit rose on proceeds from Yes Bank stake sale.
On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp fell 4.2% after the two-wheeler maker’s domestic wholesale volumes declined 8% on a year-on-year basis in October 2025. Hero MotoCorp was among the top drags in auto index, which slipped 0.9%.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Sumana Nandy and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
