By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -Indian shares inched lower on Monday as weak results from Kotak Mahindra Bank weighed on sentiment, while uncertainty over trade talks with the U.S. added to overall caution.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.16% to 24,798.9 points and the BSE Sensex lost 0.2% to 81,325.4 as of 10:03 a.m. IST.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Negotiations between India and the United States remained deadlocked over tariff cuts on agriculture and dairy products, dimming hopes of an interim deal ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline.
This is in contrast to a framework trade agreement struck between the U.S. and European Union over the weekend, easing fears of a bigger trade war between the two allies, which account for almost a third of global trade.
High-weightage financials and private banks lost 0.2% and 1%, respectively, dragged by a 7% fall in Kotak Mahindra Bank after it posted a drop in quarterly profit.
The IT index lost 0.5%, with Tata Consultancy Services shedding 1.6% after it announced plans to reduce its workforce by 2% in fiscal year 2026.
The Nifty 50 and 30-stock Sensex have logged four consecutive weekly losses due to weak earnings, foreign outflows and uncertainty over the U.S.-India trade deal.
“A dull earnings season and the lingering delay in the India-U.S. trade deal have clearly cast a shadow on market sentiment. With valuations still stretched across the board, investors are understandably treading with heightened caution,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.
Among individual stocks, Mphasis gained 2.4% on posting quarterly results in-line with estimates and on strong deal bookings, which has boosted the IT company’s revenue growth outlook.
SBI Cards and Payment Services lost 3.7% after missing profit estimates in the June quarter.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
