Stock market opens lower as global tariff war deepens, Nifty below 22,000

Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Tuesday amid weak global cues, as selling was seen in the auto and IT sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.30 am, Sensex was trading 363.22 points or 0.50 per cent down at 72,722.72 while the Nifty declined 125.80 points or 0.57 per cent at 21,993.50.

Uncertainty unleashed by US President Donald Trump is aggravating in global trade, according to experts.

“The 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico and the 20 per cent tariff on China (with the additional 10 per cent imposed now) kicking in the threats are turning into action. The retaliation to these Donald Trump tariffs is yet to be known. Certainly there will be responses,” they added.

In response to Trump administration tariff hike, Canada will impose 25 per cent tariffs on US imports worth 30 billion Canadian dollars from Tuesday. It will impose tariffs on additional US imports worth 125 billion Canadian dollars in coming 21 days.

Meanwhile, Nifty Bank was down 91.80 points or 0.19 per cent at 48,022.50. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 47,100.65 after dropping 883.50 points or 1.84 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 14,409.35 after declining 251.50 points or 1.72 per cent.

According to market watchers, Nifty has immediate support at 22,000, followed by 21,850 and 21,600, while resistance is placed at 22,500, 22,600, and 22,800.

“A breakdown below 22,000 could accelerate selling pressure toward 21,800, whereas a recovery above 22,500 might trigger a relief rally. The index remains in a sideways to bearish phase, and a decisive breakout is required for a trend reversal,” said Mandar Bhojane of Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Nestle India, Infosys, Tata Steel, M&M and Titan were the top losers. Whereas, only ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI were the top gainers.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones declined 1.48 per cent to close at 43,191.24. The S&P 500 declined 1.76 per cent to 5,849.72 and the Nasdaq declined 2.64 per cent to close at 18,350.19.

In the Asian markets, Only Bangkok was trading in the green. China, Japan, Seoul, Jakarta and Hong Kong were trading in red.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling on eighth day in a row, as they sold equities worth Rs 4,788.29 crore on March 3. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,790.70 crore, on the same day.

–IANS