Nifty, Sensex open in red as Trump signs executive order imposing 25 pc tariff on India effective Aug 7

NEW DELHI: Indian stock markets continued to remain under pressure on Friday morning as US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing 25 per cent tariffs on India’s exports to the US, effective from August 7. At the opening bell, the Nifty 50 index dipped by 33.45 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 24,734.90, while the BSE Sensex fell by 111.17 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 81,074.41.

The move has raised concerns about India’s export outlook, as the US is one of the country’s largest export destinations. The fresh round of tariffs has sparked fears that Indian products will become more expensive in the US market, making them less competitive compared to goods from other countries, potentially denting demand.

Commenting on the market sentiment, Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, said, “Indian markets are suffering from Trump tariff deal not coming as per expectation, so-so earnings, and a lack of governmental action plan to boost consumption, private capex or generate demand via a fiscal stimulus. Markets are caught in a lower range and there is no catalyst that could boost them apart from a big bold policy reform push by the federal government. Looking forward to the weekend, markets are not interesting when catalysts are lacking”.

Trump has rolled out dozens of unilateral tariff impositions ahead of the August 1 deadline, but postponed the implementation by seven days to August 7 to allow US Customs time to update their systems. The US order on tariffs stated, “These modifications shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 am eastern daylight time 7 days after the date of this order”.

Experts say this ongoing policy disarray, with frequent changes, has left global markets unsettled. “Markets are not happy and from the US to Europe to Asia, the last 24 hours have seen some pinks turning reddish. This policy chaos is here to stay and despite the markets’ fortitude and resilience, some cracks are appearing”, Bagga noted.

In the broader market, the Nifty 100 was down by 0.18 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 was marginally up by 0.04 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap declined by 0.29 per cent at the time of filing this report.

Among the sectoral indices on NSE, all major indices opened in the red except Nifty FMCG, indicating broad-based selling pressure. Nifty IT fell 0.51 per cent, Nifty Metal slipped 0.43 per cent, Nifty Pharma declined 1.16 per cent, and Nifty PSU Bank was down by 0.30 per cent.

Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research, Kotak Securities, said, “We believe that as long as the market continues to trade above 24,750/81,200, the pullback is likely to continue. On the upside, the market could move towards 24,900/81,700, and a further rally could take the indices towards 25,000/82,000. On the downside, if the market drops below 24,750/81,200, we may see a fresh round of selling. Below this level, the market may retest the levels of 24,600/80,700. The break of 24,600 would invite further weakness”.

Bank Nifty also showed weakness and is struggling to sustain above the 56,100 mark. Experts suggest it may fall to 55,500 if it breaks below 55,700. Several major companies including, ITC, Adani Power, The Tata Power Company, Godrej Properties, UPL, Tube Investments of India Ltd, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, LIC Housing Finance, and Delhi very are set to announce their quarterly earnings today.

Other Asian markets also opened weak. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down by 0.23 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined by 0.43 per cent, and Taiwan’s weighted index was also in the red at the time of filing this report.

As per the executive order, apart from India’s 25 per cent tariff, the US has also imposed tariffs on other countries: Indonesia (19 per cent), Japan (15 per cent), Myanmar (40 per cent), New Zealand (15 per cent), Pakistan (19 per cent), Philippines (19 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent), South Korea (15 per cent), and Sri Lanka (20 per cent). (ANI)