Latest Stock Market News

Crude oil futures edged higher due to a surprise drop in U.S. inventories and Middle East tensions but are on track for their biggest weekly loss in over a month. Concerns over increased supply and lower future demand forecasts have driven prices down, despite geopolitical risks remaining high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved its fourth record close in five sessions, driven by strong retail sales and a bullish forecast from TSMC. U.S. retail data signaled robust economic health, sustaining investor optimism despite slight losses in the S&P 500 and mixed performances among other indexes.

Benchmark Sensex fell for the third day, dropping nearly 495 points amid foreign fund outflows. Key stocks in focus included Wipro, Infosys, and LTIMindtree. Technical Analyst Kushal Gandhi provides investment insights, recommending actions based on technical patterns and recent performance metrics.

The second quarter earnings season continues with 44 companies, including Jio Financial, Tata Consumer, and ICICI Lombard, reporting results. Tata Consumer is expected to see a 5% drop in net profit year-on-year, despite a 15% revenue growth driven by new businesses in pharma and food channels.

The profitability also suffered on account of inflationary prices of coffee and cocoa. The operating profit margin corrected by 100 bps to 23.4%. Raw material cost stood at 43.6% of revenues-same as the year ago elevated level of 43.7%.

The guidance change is the sixth consecutive quarterly revision and seventh in eight quarters. Infosys is seeing a “lot of traction in financial services, which has given us good growth last quarter and this quarter,” said chief executive officer Salil Parekh. “We see that continuing.”

IT services company LTIMindtree reported 8% year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1251 crore in the quarter ended September 2024.

Shares in Japan rose, helped along by a weaker yen, while equities in Australia and South Korea fell. US futures were flat after the S&P 500 retreated from an intraday record Thursday to end the session little changed.

Net interest income - the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits - a key source of income for banks, grew 9% year-on-year to ₹13,483 crore. Net interest margins for the September quarter basis eased to 3.99% against 4.11% a year ago.