Sensex, Nifty open lower as Trump tariffs trigger global sell-off

Mumbai: Indian equity indices opened lower on Thursday following a sharp sell-off in global markets after the US President Donald Trump announcement of reciprocal tariffs.

At around 9:20 am, Sensex was down 470 points or 0.61 per cent at 76,197, and Nifty was down 105 points or 0.45 per cent, at 23,227.

In early trading hour, midcap and smallcaps were trading with minor gains compared to largecap. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 125 points or 0.24 per cent at 52,183 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 121 points or 0.75 per cent at 16,283.

On the sectoral front, Auto, IT, PSU bank, FMCG, metal and media were in the top laggars. Pharma, realty and energy were major gainers.

In the Sensex pack, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Kotak Mahindra Bank were major losers. Sun Pharma, Power Grid, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and UltraTech cement were major gainers.

Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital-Prabhudas Lilladher, said, “Large Tariff shocks threatens US and global recession If these policies, if sustained – would likely push the US and Global Economy into recession this year.”

“In very general terms, Canada and Mexico have got off lightly, while those in Asia, particularly China and Vietnam, have been hit hard. The European Union and Japan sit somewhere in the middle. Just the hope – no one retaliates Since If you retaliate, there will be escalation. If you don’t retaliate, this is the high water mark,” he added.

Most Asian markets witnessed heavy selling due to US tariffs. Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul were in the red. The US markets closed in the green on Wednesday’s trading session.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak for the third consecutive session on April 2, offloading equities worth Rs 1,538 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers for the fourth consecutive day, purchasing equities worth Rs 2,800 crore.

–IANS