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Key gauges end marginally higher; IT stocks decline
Feb-04-2026

Indian equity benchmarks traded within narrow range throughout the session and ended marginally higher on Wednesday as a sharp decline in IT blue-chip stocks restricted the rally in the markets. Sentiments remained subdued as the focus shifts to Friday’s RBI interest rate announcement. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India services sector growth hits 2-month high: The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to a two-month high of 58.5 in January, from December's recent low of 58.0, mainly driven by demand buoyancy, new business gains and tech investment.

India-EU FTA undergoing legal scrubbing; likely to enter into force this year: EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin has said India-European Union free trade agreement is currently undergoing legal scrubbing and both sides are committed to concluding the process swiftly for its signing and coming into force, possibly this year.  

Tariff cut by US augurs well for Indian exports: After US President Donald Trump's decision to slash tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed optimism that this move is a positive development for India as it will boost exports along with having found new markets where they will continue to operate. 

Rupee falls against US Dollar: Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar, after a sharp rally in the previous trading session following India-US trade deal announcement, on suspected dollar buying by corporates and importers.

Global front: European markets were trading higher with traders awaiting the monetary policy announcements from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. Asian markets settled mostly higher despite tumbling technology stocks which mirrored their peer on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 78.56 points or 0.09% to 83,817.69 and the CNX Nifty was up by 48.45 points or 0.19% to 25,776.00.    

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 83,947.53 and 83,119.95 respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.        

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.72%, Oil & Gas up by 2.37%, Consumer Durables up by 2.36%, Power up by 2.18% and Energy up by 1.91%, while IT down by 5.49%, TECK down by 3.71% and Healthcare down by 0.14% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 5.22%, Trent up by 4.98%, NTPC up by 2.44%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.36% and Power Grid Corporation up by 2.15%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.19%, TCS down by 6.95%, HCL Technologies down by 4.22%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.12% and Axis Bank down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, January 2026 saw a notable improvement in India’s services sector growth, led by quicker expansions in new business intakes and output.  According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 58.5 in January from 58.0 in December. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 58.4 in January as against 57.8 in December.

The survey report stated that the main source of new business gains was the domestic market, but international orders nevertheless rose solidly. Moreover, the pace of expansion was the most pronounced in three months. Rising intakes of new work prompted service providers in India to resume hiring in January. The pace of job creation was only marginal, however, as the vast majority of firms opted to leave workforce numbers unchanged amid sufficient resources for current requirements.

On the inflation front, input costs increased at the fastest pace since last September, albeit one that was moderate and below the long-run series trend. Output charges also rose to a greater extent during January, with the rate of inflation at a three-month high. Service providers sought to better balance cost rises and profitability. The overall increase was nevertheless mild in the context of historical data.

Further, cost pressures were by far most intense in the Consumer Services category, while the strongest increase in output charges was noted in the Finance & Insurance sector. Meanwhile, business confidence rose to a three-month high at the start of the final fiscal quarter. Among the factors supporting optimistic forecasts were efficiency gains, marketing efforts and new client wins.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,818.55 and 25,563.95 respectively. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.    

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 5.18%, Eternal up by 4.90%, ONGC up by 3.50%, NTPC up by 2.30% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.37%, TCS down by 6.99%, HCL Technologies down by 4.58%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.52% and Wipro down by 3.79% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 110.76 points or 1.07% to 10,425.35, France’s CAC rose 77.6 points or 0.95% to 8,257.10 and Germany’s DAX gained 40.21 points or 0.16% to 24,821.00. 

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday, despite heightened geopolitical tensions after the US Navy shot down an Iranian drone headed toward an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. Chinese shares gained as solar shares jumped after local media reported delegations sent by Elon Musk visited various companies in the sector days after Musk announced plans to build large-scale solar cell production in the United States. The South Korean Kospi hit a new peak on strong buying by institutional investors, who purchased a net 1.8 trillion won. However, Japanese shares tracked a tech-led selloff on Wall Street, with investors rotating out of richly valued technology shares and into more cyclical sectors.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,102.20

34.47

0.85

Hang Seng

26,847.32

12.55

0.05

Jakarta Composite

8,146.72

24.12

0.30

KLSE Composite

1,742.82

-5.44

-0.31

Nikkei 225

54,293.36

-427.30

-0.78

Straits Times

4,965.50

21.41

0.43

KOSPI Composite

5,371.10

83.02

1.57

Taiwan Weighted

32,289.81

94.45

0.29
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