Infosys, Wipro drag India stock benchmarks lower at open

India's equity benchmarks opened marginally lower on Friday, pausing after a recent rally, dragged down by Infosys and Wipro on margin concerns even as they surpassed revenue estimates for the September quarter.

The Nifty 50 NIFTY fell 0.15% to 25,546.85, while the BSE Sensex SENSEX shed 0.16% to 83,331.3 as of 9:24 a.m. IST.

Ten of the 16 major sectors logged losses at open. The broader small-caps CNXSMALLCAP and mid-caps CNXMIDCAP lost 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively.

The IT sub-index CNXIT fell 1.25%, with Wipro WIPRO losing 4.5% despite exceeding second-quarter revenue estimates, as analysts raised concerns over margin pressures from deal ramp-ups and recent acquisitions.

"Over fiscal year 2026-2028, we expect 3% earnings per share (EPS) CAGR, which along with 3% dividend yields makes risk-reward unattractive," said analysts at Jefferies.

Infosys INFY1! also lost 1.5% after beating September-quarter revenue estimates. "Q2 results were a mixed bag with higher revenue but lower than expected margins," said UBS.

Infosys's fiscal 2026 revenue outlook of 2%-3% also appears overtly conservative, according to CLSA.

The Nifty and BSE Sensex SENSEX ended Thursday at three-month highs and now sit less than 3% below their record peaks reached in September 2024, fuelled by expectations of an earnings rebound and hopes for domestic and U.S. rate cuts.