Reuters - Indian shares were set for a muted start on Friday as investors were cautious after a weak revenue outlook from HCLTech and ahead of the quarterly earnings of the country's top firm by market capitalisation Reliance Industries.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.03% at 17,670 as of 8:28 a.m. IST.
Information technology (IT) firm HCL Tech Ltd on Thursday forecast lower-than-expected revenue growth for FY2024 on spending cuts and project ramp-downs. It reported a rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter, although core profit margins contracted.
IT stocks have led the recent slide in the markets, following the weak earnings of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd. The benchmark Nifty 50 is down 1.14% so far this week, while the heavyweight IT index has lost over 6%.
Investors also awaited the quarterly results of Reliance Industries Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd.
Reliance, which is scheduled to report earnings post market hours on Friday, is estimated to post a 7.9% rise in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter at 174.77 billion rupees, per Refinitiv IBES data. ICICI Bank will report its results on Saturday.
Analysts expected markets to remain choppy as earnings trickle in, amid weak global cues.
Wall Street equities fell overnight, dragged by a sharp slide in shares of Tesla after the electric vehicle maker posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years. Asian equities were subdued. [MKTS/GLOB]
A slew of U.S. data including the weekly jobless claims report on Thursday indicated the cooling down of the economy, but several Federal Reserve officials said the central bank has more rate hikes ahead of it.
Stocks to watch
** Cyient Ltd: Co reports 48% surge in Q4 revenue on strong deal pipeline.
** Siemens Ltd: Co, as part of consortium with Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, has received two separate orders from Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation. Siemen's share in the orders is 6.78 billion rupees.
** Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd: Competition Commission of India approves acquisition of 76.10% stake in co by Berhyanda Ltd.
** Earnings on Friday: Reliance Industries, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Tejas Networks
** Earnings on Saturday: ICICI Bank, Macrotech Developers, Yes Bank, CE Info Systems