Nifty down 173 points, Sensex loses 450 points in opening, but shows resilience

MUMBAI: The Indian stock markets are showing resilience as compared to Asian peers. However, it opened in negative on Friday, the second day following the announcement of new tariffs by US President Donald Trump. The other Asian indices faced a sharp downturn amid concerns over a global trade war and heightened recession fears.

The benchmark Nifty 50 index opened at 23,190.40, registering a dip of 59.70 points or 0.26 percent. Similarly, the BSE Sensex opened at 76,160.09, declining by 135.27 points or 0.18 percent. The initial downturn reflected global uncertainty.

Market expert Ajay Bagga highlighted the severe impact of what is being referred to as the “US Liberation Day” tariffs. He said, “The US Liberation Day tariffs proved to be very damaging for market sentiment, with global economic recession risks being raised by analysts due to the risks of a global trade war. US stock markets bore the brunt of the “Make America Wealth Again” tariffs, which are seen as a self-defeating move that will raise prices, reduce choice and lead to demand destruction. Indian markets weathered the Asian, European and US markets’ fall with banks and financials doing the heavy lifting”.

The Indian market now awaits the earnings season, which begins next week and is expected to act as a key catalyst for stock movements. Additionally, investors are anticipating the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) interest rate decision on April 9, which could further influence market direction.

The market holiday on April 10 will shift the weekly options expiry to Wednesday, making today’s weekly Nifty trading session crucial as faster premium decays are expected.

The global economic landscape also witnessed significant turmoil. The US Dollar Index (DXY) recorded its largest single-day drop since its inception in 2005, falling by more than 2 per cent.

Oil prices declined on concerns over a global economic slowdown, exacerbated by OPEC+ deciding to increase production in an already surplus market. Commodity markets also reflected the turmoil, with silver plunging by over 6 percent and copper losing 3 percent.

Furthermore, Fitch Ratings downgraded China’s sovereign rating to ‘A,’ citing increased government expenditure and the impact of the newly imposed tariffs.

In the sectoral indices on NSE, only pharma and banking stocks opened in positive territory, while others registered declines. Nifty IT was the worst-hit, falling by 1.53 percent, followed by Nifty Metal, which dropped by 0.76 percent, and Nifty Auto, which lost 0.39 percent.

Among the top gainers in the Nifty 50 were HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Zomato, while the biggest losers included ONGC, Infosys, Hindalco, TCS, and Tata Motors.

The broader Asian markets continued to reel under heavy selling pressure. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped by more than 3 percent, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index also declined by 3 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI lost 1.45 percent, indicating widespread concerns over the trade war’s economic repercussions.

The negative sentiment was even more pronounced in the U.S. markets, where major indices recorded steep losses in reaction to Trump’s tariff announcement.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 plummeted by 4.84 percent, while the Nasdaq suffered an even sharper decline of 5.97 percent. The heavy sell-off on Wall Street further fuelled concerns of an impending recession and the broader implications of escalating trade tensions. (ANI)