US President Donald Trump’s additional 25% import tariffs, which came into effect from Wednesday, triggered a sell-off in Indian equity markets.
The Sensex tumbled 705.97 points, or 0.87%, to close at a two-week low of 80,080.57, extending losses for the second straight session. The Nifty fell 211.15 points, or 0.85%, to end at 24,500.90 on the monthly expiry day. The domestic markets were shut on Wednesday for Ganesh Chaturthi. On Tuesday, both indices had already lost over 1% each.
Export-heavy industries bear the brunt
“Selling pressure in heavyweights kept overall sentiment cautious despite pockets of resilience. The steep 25% US tariffs will hit India’s textiles & apparel, gems & jewellery, marine (shrimp), leather and footwear sectors the hardest, given their heavy reliance on the US market,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
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On the policy front, the government extended the import duty exemption on cotton until December, offering some relief to the garment industry impacted by higher US tariffs. Supportive measures around GST reforms, import duty relaxations, and the broader ‘Swadeshi’ push are expected to provide resilience to domestic markets amid global trade headwinds, Khemka added.
The overall market breadth remained weak, with 2,651 losers against 1,456 gainers on the BSE. The broader indices also underperformed, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices declining 1.09% and 0.96%, respectively.
“Upside in markets has been capped by the external environment for over a year now. We expect markets to remain weak in the near term, and any improvement may only come from progress on trade pacts or a meaningful boost in domestic performance through GST reforms or similar measures,” said Aashish Somaiyaa, CEO, WhiteOak Capital AMC.
Investor wealth eroded by ₹4.28 lakh crore on Thursday, taking the two-day loss to nearly ₹10 lakh crore.
Sectorally, barring consumer durables — which are likely to benefit from GST rationalisation next month and festive demand — all other indices ended in the red. Services, telecom, IT, TECK and realty were the worst hit, losing up to 2.27%, while consumer durables rose 0.60%.
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Among Sensex constituents,
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