5 reasons why Sensex, Nifty fell today; TCS, HCL Tech Q3 results; weak rupee & more

Benchmark stock indices fell on Monday, as investors turned nervous ahead of the kick start of December quarter earnings season. A weakness in rupee and persistent foreign outflows weighed, even as Asian markets were largely trading higher. There are concerns over stalling of the India-US trade deal and geopolitical risks. Adding concerns are the US Supreme Court not giving its verdict on the legality of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs on trading partners. Technical charts were already hinting at bearish tone.   

At 10 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 83,149.56, down 426.68 points or 0.51 per cent. Nifty fell 96.70 points or 0.38 per cent to 25,569.80. WIth this, the benchmarks were down for the sixth straight session now.

Q3 results
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and HCL Technologies Ltd will kick off earnings season today. TCS is expected to report a nil to 6 per cent rise in net profit on 4-6 per cent jump in net sales. Ebit margin is likely to be hit sequentially by two-month impact of wage hikes and the continuation of redundancy costs, analysts said.

Noida-based HCL Technologies Ltd (HCL Tech) is expected to report a 5-9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit for the December quarter, supported by an 11-12 per cent year on year increase in net sales. Margins were seen expanding by over 100 basis points sequentially, though remaining lower on a year on year basis.

"After delivering 9.5 per cent growth in Q1 and 8.4 per cent in Q2, Nifty50 would deliver YoY PAT growth of 9.8 per cent in Q3 in our view, driven by: i) IT services (12 per cent weight in Nifty earnings), likely to increase 10 per cent YoY; ii) Auto (6 per cent weight in Nifty earnings), to accelerate 33 per cent YoY; and iii) metals & mining (5 per cent weight in Nifty50 earnings), to rise 25 per cent YoY,"  JM Financial said.

Trade deal, geopolitical tensions
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments said the market has turned distinctly weak, weighed down by a series of India-specific and global geopolitical events. 

"The drama surrounding the US-India trade deal is getting murkier with strange remarks from the US administration. This is impacting the market. Geopolitical developments in Venezuela, the crisis in Iran and Trump’s threats regarding Greenland are also being viewed by the markets with concern. This has spiked the India volatility index India VIX indicating big volatility ahead," Vijayakumar said. 

Vijayakumar said an expected ruling on Trump tariffs from the US Supreme Court on Friday did not materialise and there is no clarity on when this will happen. 

"Yet it can happen any time and, therefore, investors have to be watchful of the development on this front. Therefore Q3 results and management commentary from the tech majors and other large caps in banking and companies like RIL will influence the market trend in the near-term," it said.

Rupee weakness & FPI outflows
The recent weakness in rupee and persistent foreign outflows are weighing in on the investor sentiment. Data showed FPIs sold Rs 11,789 crore worth equities in 2026 so far. They pulled out Rs 1,66,286 crore worth equities in 2025. 

Weak technical charts
ICICI Direct said a series of lower highs and lower lows for five-consecutive session, indicates corrective bias with the next support base placed around 25,300 level. For the market to meaningfully stabilise and attempt a pullback, a decisive close above the previous session’s high remains a critical prerequisite, it said.

"In the process 26,100 would act as an immediate resistance. Looking ahead, volatility is expected to stay elevated this week amid geopolitical uncertainties, the commencement of the Q3 earnings season, and awaited clarity on the US–India trade deal," it said.