India market slide

Indian stocks fell for a second straight session on Thursday, with the Sensex dropping more than 850 points and the Nifty 50 closing below 24,200. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The selloff followed Wednesday’s 757-point Sensex slide, when the index closed at 78,516.49 and the Nifty ended at 24,378 after a three-session rally snapped. HCLTech was the biggest Sensex loser that day, falling 11% after quarterly results and guidance disappointed investors. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) HCLTech told investors its fiscal 2027 revenue growth would be 1% to 4%, after reporting fourth-quarter net profit of ₹4,488 crore and revenue of ₹33,981 crore for the quarter ended March 31. The company’s cautious outlook fed a broader retreat in information-technology shares including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra. (financialexpress.com) Oil added a second pressure point. Brent crude moved back above $100 a barrel as traders reacted to renewed disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (cnbc.com) That matters more in India than in many large markets because the country imports most of its crude oil. Higher oil prices can weaken the rupee, raise inflation pressure and squeeze company margins, all of which tend to hit equities at the same time. (reuters.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Foreign investors were already turning cautious before Thursday’s drop. Reuters reported that the market’s recent rally had been interrupted by weaker technology guidance and rising oil, adding to concern about near-term volatility in emerging-market flows. (reuters.com) Wednesday’s trading gave an early sign of that shift: foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth ₹1,918.99 crore, according to exchange data cited by local market coverage. A falling rupee added to the pressure on the benchmark indexes. (rediff.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) By Thursday’s close, the slide had spread beyond software exporters to banks and automakers, while some drugmakers held up better. The result was a two-day reversal that erased the market’s brief rebound and left oil and earnings as the two numbers traders were watching most closely. (etnownews.com)