MUMBAI– Indian equity markets closed sharply lower on Tuesday as investors sold heavily ahead of the US imposing 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods, set to take effect Wednesday.
The Sensex ended at 80,786.54, down 849.37 points or 1.04 percent. The 30-share index opened in the red at 81,377.39, slipping further during intraday trade to touch a low of 80,685.98. The Nifty closed at 24,712.05, losing 255.70 points or 1.02 percent.
“Domestic market sentiment turned cautious as the US penalty tariff deadline expires tomorrow. The persistent depreciation of the Indian currency is adding pressure and may further impact foreign institutional inflows,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. He added that broad-based selling was visible across sectors, except for FMCG, which gained on expectations of higher consumption.
Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Trent, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, L&T, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, BEL, ICICI Bank, SBI, HCL Tech, and HDFC Bank all finished in negative territory. Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, and ITC were the top gainers.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Bank fell 688.85 points or 1.25 percent, Nifty Financial Services dropped 354.30 points or 1.35 percent, Nifty Auto slipped 103.10 points or 0.41 percent, and Nifty IT shed 216.85 points or 0.60 percent. Nifty FMCG bucked the trend, rising 505.35 points or 0.91 percent.
Broader indices mirrored the decline, with Nifty Small Cap 100 losing 362.95 points or 2.03 percent, Nifty Midcap 100 falling 935.30 points or 1.62 percent, Nifty 100 dipping 276.20 points or 1.08 percent, and Nifty Next 50 closing 911 points or 1.35 percent lower.
The rupee extended its slide, weakening by 0.18 to trade near 87.75. “The US move is expected to weigh on India’s export outlook, limiting any sustained recovery in the currency. While crude prices have softened by around 1.5 percent in the past session, providing some relief on the import bill side, the negative impact of tariffs overshadowed these gains,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.
He added that FII outflows and continued dollar demand have further capped the rupee’s upside. “The trading range for the rupee is now seen between 87.25 and 88.25, with risks tilted towards depreciation unless sentiment improves,” Trivedi said. (Source: IANS)
