Indian stocks close flat over Trump tariff worries, volatility remains

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 19 (ANI): Indian stock indices continued to remain volatile over concerns about Trump's tariff announcements and weak global cues. The benchmark indices opened in the red to later trade in the green. At closing, it closed marginally lower.
Sensex closed at 75,939.18 points, down 28.21 points or 0.037 per cent, while Nifty closed at 22,932.90 points, down 12.40 points or 0.054 per cent. Among the indices, Nifty IT slumped the most and Nifty realty soared the most, NSE data showed.
In the latest, US President Donald Trump indicated he would impose tariffs on autos and pharmaceuticals -- expected to impact Indian businesses.
US President Donald Trump reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade. This has likely kept investors on tenterhooks.
Domestic stock markets are also under pressure due to the continued outflow of foreign portfolios from India for the second month.
"FIIs will start buying when the dollar depreciates and the US bond yields start coming down. This might take time. A strong fundamental factor that can turn FIIs into buyers is indication of earnings recovery in India. This is likely in early FY 2026. High frequency indicators might suggest a turnaround in growth and earrings soon, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Sensex is now a little over 10,000 points below its all-time high of 85,978 points. Sensex has so far slumped over 3 per cent this New Year.
Weak domestic economic growth has also been reflecting on the stock markets. The recent RBI repo rate cut failed to cheer markets, amid volatility world over.
In 2024, Sensex and Nifty accumulated a growth of about 9-10 per cent each. In 2023, Sensex and Nifty gained 16-17 per cent, on a cumulative basis. In 2022, they gained a mere 3 per cent each. Weak GDP growth, foreign fund outflows, rising food prices, and slow consumption were some of the hurdles, keeping many investors at bay in 2024. (ANI)