Mumbai, April 3: Indian stock markets opened in selling pressure on Thursday, following a global decline triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement. Investors reacted negatively, leading to a sharp drop in key indices at market opening. The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged over 800 points to open at 75,811.12, marking a 1.05 percent decline. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 index fell by 182.05 points, opening at 23,150.30, down by 0.78 percent.
Market experts stated that stocks are impacted by US President Donald Trump's announcement of a reciprocal tariff. Investors are shifting funds to safer assets, such as gold, further exacerbating the sell-off in equities. Ajay Bagga, a Banking and Market expert, toldthat "the Impact on India will come via the US dollar, economic pain caused by possible falling exports and margins, and impacted EM portfolio flows as investors flee to safe havens like gold, Yen, Swiss franc, and Japanese government bonds. Uncertainty is now converted to certainty of economic and market pain. The first reaction is to rush into safe havens and to sell risk assets."
Experts also warned of potential currency tensions between the U.S. and China. If China devalues its currency in response to the new tariffs, it could intensify market turmoil, leading to further outflows and losses in equities. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto declined 1.25%, Nifty IT fell 1.67%, and Nifty Metals slipped 0.81%. However, the pharma sector outperformed, gaining 2.95%, as Trump's tariffs did not impact this sector.
Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities: "Asia is a sea of red due to last night's tariff announcements, so the Nifty is expected to open weak. That said, first support in the 23090 - 23141, followed by the critical 22800-23000 zone, will be in focus. The close today will be an important first hint of who between the bull and the bear is more confident now that the announcements are out of the way".
The negative sentiment was mirrored across Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 plummeted 3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.45 percent, and South Korea's Kospi index was down more than 1 percent at the time of reporting.
Also Read | Sensex, Nifty open lower as Trump tariffs trigger global sell-off.
The impact of Trump's announcement extended to U.S. futures markets as well. At the time of filing this report, the Dow Jones Futures dropped by 1.94 percent, indicating a likely weak opening for Wall Street. With global uncertainties rising, market participants remain cautious, closely monitoring developments related to trade policies and their economic implications.
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