Indian equities open lower; Nifty slips below 25,000 before US tariffs come in effect

MUMBAI: Indian stock markets opened on a cautious note in negative territory on Friday as investors turned wary ahead of the implementation of impending US tariffs, alongside weak global cues and no progress in the Ukraine conflict.

The benchmark Nifty 50 index opened at 25,064.15, slipping by 19.60 points or 0.08 per cent, while the BSE Sensex started the session at 81,957.74, down by 42.97 points or 0.05 per cent.

Market experts highlighted that the sentiment remains fragile, with traders unwilling to take aggressive positions.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, “Indian markets will find it difficult to sustain the last week’s minor upmove. US punitive tariffs seem slated to go into effect on Aug 27th, with Ukraine seeing no progress on peace talks. All eyes are on the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday. Traders will closely monitor his speech for any clues on U.S. interest rate cuts in September following recent job market weakness.”

Adding to the caution, investor confidence took another hit after the White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro made fresh allegations against India on Thursday.

He claimed that India was “perpetuating” the Ukraine war by purchasing discounted Russian crude oil. Calling India a “laundromat for the Kremlin,”

Navarro alleged that the country’s crude purchases were helping Russia fund its war efforts, even as New Delhi profited from refining and resale.

“India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed. It’s cosying up to Xi Jinping (Chinese President). They (India) don’t need the (Russian) oil. It’s a refining profiteering scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin. I love India. Modi is a great leader, but please, India, look at your role in the global economy. What you’re doing right now is not creating peace. It’s perpetuating the war,” the White House trade advisor said.
On the broader market front, indices on NSE showed mixed trends. The Nifty 100 declined by 0.26 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.21 per cent. Nifty Smallcap shares were down marginally by 0.07 per cent.

Sectoral indices also mirrored the cautious mood. Except for Nifty Media, Pharma and PSU Bank, all major sectors were trading in the red at the time of filing this report. Nifty Auto slipped 0.08 per cent, Nifty FMCG lost 0.27 per cent, Nifty IT dropped 0.17 per cent, while Nifty Metal was the worst hit, down 0.46 per cent.

Asian markets displayed mixed movement. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded with a decline of 0.11 per cent, while Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.38 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.16 per cent, South Korea’s KOSPI surged 0.61 per cent, whereas Taiwan’s weighted index slipped 0.26 per cent, reflecting a patchy trend across the region. (ANI)