Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Thursday, mirroring a global decline following US President Donald Trump’s latest announcement on tariffs. Investors reacted with a broad sell-off, sending key indices tumbling at the opening bell.
The BSE Sensex dropped by 800 points, opening at 75,811.12, a decline of 1.05 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50 slid by 182.05 points to 23,150.30, down 0.78 per cent.
Market analysts attributed the downturn to concerns over the implications of Trump’s reciprocal tariff measures. Investors shifted towards safer assets such as gold, exacerbating the sell-off in equities.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert said, “The impact on India will come via the US dollar, economic pain caused by possible falling exports and margins, and impacted EM portfolio flows as investors flee to safe havens like gold, yen, Swiss franc, and Japanese government bonds. Uncertainty is now converted to certainty of economic and market pain. The first reaction is to rush into safe havens and to sell risk assets.”
Experts also warned of potential currency tensions between the US and China. Should China choose to devalue its currency in response, the resulting turmoil could deepen losses in global equities.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto declined by 1.25 per cent, Nifty IT by 1.67 per cent, and Nifty Metals by 0.81 per cent.
The pharmaceutical sector, however, outperformed, gaining 2.95 per cent as it remained unaffected by Trump’s tariff measures.
Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, “Asia is a sea of red due to last night’s tariff announcements, so the Nifty is expected to open weak. That said, first support in the 23090 - 23141 range, followed by the critical 22800-23000 zone, will be in focus. The close today will be an important first hint of who between the bull and the bear is more confident now that the announcements are out of the way.”
Asian markets reflected the prevailing negative sentiment. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled by 3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.45 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi index fell over 1 per cent.
The fallout from Trump’s tariff announcement was also felt in US futures markets. At the time of filing this report, the Dow Jones Futures had declined by 1.94 per cent, indicating a likely weak opening on Wall Street.
With global uncertainty escalating, investors remain cautious, closely monitoring developments in trade policies and their potential economic impact.
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