Stock Market Today LIVE: Sensex, Nifty 50 Gain In Pre-Open Trade; Rupee Opens Higher; TCS, Infosys, Other IT Stocks In Focus

The Indian rupee opened 6 paise higher at 96.72 against the US dollar as compared to Thursday’s close of 96.78.

Elevated crude price and high US bond yields continue to impact the market. These two strong headwinds have turned the near-term Indian market structure to a strong “sell on rally” structure. This sustained FII selling spree has emboldened the bears to go short even on fundamentally strong bluechips, weakening the market further. Given the elevated crude prices and high US bond yields, FIIs are likely to continue selling in the near-term, irrespective of the favourable valuations, particularly of the large-caps, said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Stock market history tells us that crises are great opportunities to buy. The ongoing corrective phase of the market has opened up opportunities for patient long-term value investors to accumulate high-quality stocks from the market. The risk-reward structure of the market now is highly favourable for medium to long-term investment, he added.

Bank Nifty formed a bearish candle where the open and high remained identical before the index sold off through the session. Nifty Bank failed to hold the 54,800 zone of strong support.

In the Derivatives segment, the heaviest OI on both sides is stacked at the 55,000 strike, with Calls slightly ahead of Puts there, marking it the key resistance zone overhead. On the downside, the 54,000 strike carries a notable Put base against limited Call interest, placing it as the level to watch for support. The PCR stands at 0.86. 

The immediate support is placed at 54,200, followed by 54,000. On the upside, 55,000 remains the key resistance. Sell on rallies remains preferred strategy while the index trades below the middle Bollinger Band, said Om Mehra, Technical Research Analyst, SAMCO Securities.
 

Gold price is finding support at Rs 1,48,970, followed by Rs 1,48,335. Resistance is placed at Rs 1,50,090, and a sustained move above this level could extend gains toward Rs 1,50,575, said Ajay Kedia, Director, Kedia Advisory.

Trading Ideas: 

• Gold trading range for the day is Rs 1,48,335 – Rs 1,50,575
• Gold gained as investors assessed the minutes of the Fed’s September meeting for clues on its interest rate trajectory.
• Policymakers divided over rate hike logic in Sept - Fed minutes
• Number of vessels transiting Strait of Hormuz falls to lowest in over two months
   

Motilal Oswal expects TCS’ USD revenue and EPS to compound at ~2% and ~5% over FY26-28. Demand is expected to remain selective, with growth likely to be driven by specific pockets as AI adoption continues to shape spending priorities.

The brokerage firm lowered its margin and EPS estimates for FY27 and FY28 by 40 bps and 20 bps and 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively, reflecting continued investments in AI capabilities, hiring and partnerships, and higher subcontracting costs. 

Motilal Oswal reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on TCS shares with a target price of Rs 2,400, based on 15x FY28E EPS, implying 16% upside.

The US Labour Department has suspended several major technology and IT outsourcing companies, including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant and Capgemini, from the country's Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme.

The department also suspended Microsoft and Adobe, citing multiple active federal investigations, according to a press statement by US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling. 

“I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labor Certification Program some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini, and also, due to multiple active federal investigations, @USDOL is suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the program,” Sonderling said.
 

Nifty 50 index remains vulnerable to further downside unless buying interest emerges around key support levels. 

“On the upside, 22,500–22,600 is likely to act as the immediate resistance zone, while a sustained move above 22,600 could open the way for a recovery toward 22,800. Until these levels are convincingly reclaimed, any rebound is likely to encounter selling pressure,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

On the downside, 22,200–22,180 remains the crucial support zone. He believes a decisive break below this range could accelerate the decline toward the psychological 22,000 mark. 

“The broader technical outlook remains bearish, although oversold conditions leave room for a short-term technical bounce. A sustained move above 22,600 would be necessary to ease the prevailing weakness and improve the near-term outlook,” he added.
 

Brent crude oil prices hovered near $104 a barrel after surging 4% in the previous session, as escalating Iranian attacks on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz and supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Isaias in the Gulf of Mexico heightened concerns over global oil supplies.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, were trading 0.7% lower at $103.55 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.54% to $91.00 a barrel.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 4% QoQ rise in Q2FY27 consolidated net profit to Rs 13,884 crore, while its revenue grew 1.3% sequentially to Rs 73,188 crore. EBIT rose 1.4% to Rs 17,553 crore, and EBIT margin was flat at 24%. TCS reported sequential revenue growth of 0.5% in constant currency terms. TCS also announced a dividend of Rs 12 per share.

IT stocks will be in focus after the US government suspended eight major technology companies, including Microsoft, Infosys, Wipro, Tata, Cognizant, and HCL Technologies from participating in Permanent Labor Certification Program used to secure employment-based green cards for foreign workers, accusing them of abusing the H-1B visa programme.

US technology stocks witnessed heavy selling amid concerns over AI boom after OpenAI’s revenue underwhelmed. Reports said OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue at the end of September was roughly $50 billion, lower than the $68 billion figure reported late last month.

Nvidia stock price declined 2.94%, AMD shares dropped 3.90%, Broadcom shares plunged 4.35%, Microsoft shares fell 1.35%, Intel stock price slipped 5.34%, Micron Technology shares tanked 4.79% and Oracle shares shed 5.5%.

US stock market indices ended mostly lower on Thursday, amid renewed concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) boom, with the Nasdaq posting its biggest one-day loss since mid-August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.77 points, or 0.10%, to 51,231.64, while the S&P 500 fell 36.41 points, or 0.47%, to 7,765.36. The Nasdaq Composite closed 345.35 points, or 1.25%, lower at 27,193.34.

Asian stock market traded mostly lower, following overnight losses on Wall Street, weighed down by selloff in tech stocks.

The MSCI Asia Pacific equities index fell 0.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.63%, while the Topix eased 0.10%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.48%.

The trends on Gift Nifty signal a positive start for the Indian benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, today. The Gift Nifty was trading around 22,377 level, a premium of nearly 84 points from the Nifty futures' previous close.

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to witness a technical rebound on Friday, as investors may opt for short-covering after a sharp sell-off in the previous session. However, investors may remain cautious amid weak global market cues and renewed Middle East tensions.