Indian stocks skyrocket on ceasefire news, US-China tariff deal; Sensex soars 3,000 points

NEW DELHI: Indian stock indices soared through the roof on Monday, supported by the news that the conflict between India and Pakistan has de-escalated after the two Armed forces reached an understanding.

Another shot in the arm came from the easing of trade wars between the US and China. They have arrived at an agreement that they will withdraw their previously announced reciprocal tariffs and counter tariffs for an initial period of 90 days, and in meantime — China will impose 10 per cent tariffs on US goods, and the US will tax Chinese goods at about 30 per cent.

The Sensex closed today at 82,429.90 points, up 2,975.43 points or 3.74 per cent, while Nifty closed at 24,924.70 points, up 916.70 points or 3.82 per cent, respectively.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “The ceasefire between India and Pakistan has paved the way for a sharp rally in the market. Domestic macros like expectations of high GDP growth and revival of earnings growth in FY26 and declining inflation and interest rates augur well for the resumption of a rally in the market”. A sustained buying by the foreign institutional investors is also a prime mover of today’s rally, he added.

Amidst the jump in the broader indices, companies operating in the pharma space have, however, taken a relative hit. The pharma stocks took cues from the news that US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order later in the day, intending to bring down the cost of prescription medicines by 30-80 per cent.

Nifty pharma index closed at 0.15 per cent higher while other sectoral indices jumped 2-4 per cent. Pharma sector stocks in the Indian stock market showed strong resilience despite initial pressure due to the anticipated executive order by Trump aimed at cutting prescription drug prices in the US.

“Pharma stocks may come under near-term pressure from President Trump’s latest announcement regarding reducing prices of drugs in the US,” Vijayakumar noted. Vijayakumar noted that the US-China tariff deal would be slightly disappointing from the Indian perspective since India was expecting an early deal with the US ahead of other nations.

US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US has a trade deficit. Later, President Trump decided to pause the tariffs for 90 days after many countries initiated talks with the US administration for a trade deal. In these 90 days starting April 9, President Trump imposes a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all countries. For China, Trump indicated that tariffs may increase to as high as 245 per cent. For the US, Chinese tariffs were at 125 per cent.

Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade.

For Indian stock markets, key monitorables going ahead are inflation numbers, Q4 earnings, and, of course, the updates from its western borders. (ANI)