Markets: Ahead of Trump tariff from April 2, Indian markets tumble
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India’s equity markets tumbled on Tuesday’s midday trading, fearing potential global trade disruptions ahead of US President Donald Trump’s much-dreaded reciprocal tariffs. The benchmark Sensex lost over 1,400 points, and the Nifty was down more than 350 points amid talks that a visiting US panel has flagged India’s high tariffs, thus putting pressure on New Delhi to cut tariffs on American imports on American terms.
The 30-share Sensex crashed 1. 80 percent, or 1,399.32 points, to close at 76,015.60 while the Nifty50 declined 1.50 percent, or 353.65 points, to close at 23,165.70.
The selloff deepened significantly from the morning session, when markets opened. Investor anxiety grew throughout the trading day as market participants braced for the feared uncertainties caused by Trump’s April 2 tariff declaration, which could potentially trigger a global trade war.
In Tuesday’s bloodbath on the bourses, the banking and IT sectors bore the brunt of the downturn, with HDFC Bank shedding 2.92 percent to trade at Rs. 1,774.75, while IT majors HCL Technologies and Infosys plummeted 2.64 per cent and 2.52 percent respectively.
Bajaj Finserve declined 2.47 percent and Hindalco dropped 2.40 per cent, rounding out the top five losers on the NSE.
Despite these broad market weakness, however, IndusInd Bank emerged as the top gainer, surging 5.06 percent to Rs. 682.75. The Tatas’ retail chain Trent followed with a robust gain of 4.77 percent to reach Rs.5,579.15. HDFC Life, Jio Financial Services, and ONGC also rose 1.57 percent, 1.38 percent, and 1.24 percent, respectively.
Sectoral indices reflected the broader market sentiment, with Nifty Financial Services falling 1.96 percent to 24,583.15 and Nifty Bank dropping 1.37 percent to 50,856.35. The Nifty Next 50 and Midcap 100 indices also traded lower by 0.88 percent and 0.71 percent respectively.
Realty stocks witnessed the maximum selling pressure, with the index slumping over 3 percent
Market breadth showed signs of resilience despite the headline index declines, with 2,528 advances against 1,337 declines on the BSE. However, the higher number of stocks at 52-week lows (178) compared to those at 52-week highs (59) underscored the cautious sentiment.
The market volatility was witnessed by 285 stocks hitting upper circuit limits and 216 touching lower circuits. Global factors, including Trump’s recent threats of secondary tariffs on Russian oil and additional measures against Iran, continued to weigh heavily on domestic market sentiment.
Trading remains active with over 4,000 stocks changing hands on the BSE as investors navigate the uncertain landscape ahead of Trump’s policy announcement, which could significantly impact global trade dynamics and market direction in the coming days.
All the sectoral indices, barring Nifty Media and Oil & Gas, on the NSE settled lower with losses extending up to 3.11 percent. The sell-off was higher across IT, financial services, banks, realty, and consumer durables counters. Notably, the fear index (India VIX), which gauges the volatility in the markets, settled higher by 8.37 percent at 13.78 points.
