The U.S.'s latest increase in tariffs on Indian-manufactured goods raised concern among investors. This move comes in line with India's imports of oil from Russia. Indian equity markets fell deeper on Friday after briefly recovering on Thursday, as concerns about tariffs and continued selling by foreign institutional investors weighed on sentiment. Both Sensex and Nifty suffered large intraday losses, suggesting caution across the market.
By 11 a.m. on Friday, the Sensex had fallen by 560.21 points, or 0.69%, to trade at 80,063.05, while the Nifty dropped 168.40 points, or 0.68%, to 24,427.75. This marks a reversal from the modest rebound seen in the previous session.
Bharti Airtel, Adani Enterprises, Shriram Finance, Grasim Industries, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank led the decline on the Nifty, each registering intraday losses of up to 3%.
Allegedly, Trump stated that there would be no trade talks with India until the tariff issue is resolved. The newly added 25% tariff brings total U.S. duties on Indian goods exports to 50%, which is concerning for Indian exporters.
The Nifty Market Update reflects heightened volatility with banking and IT stocks leading the losses. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs. 4,997.19 crore worth of Indian equities on Thursday alone. Analysts have attributed the aggressive sell-off to the elevated market valuations and geopolitical uncertainty, causing a risk-off sentiment among foreign investors.
Asian markets traded mainly in the red, mirroring the US markets overnight. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were particularly weak, highlighting an overall unease among investors globally concerning trade as well as global geopolitical issues.
The recent India-US Tariff News has added to overall Stock Market Volatility, shaking investor confidence. The Indian rupee continued to lose ground, falling five paise to 87.63 per US dollar. The combination of a stronger dollar and persistent foreign capital outflows has hurt the rupee even though the Reserve Bank of India reportedly intervened to stabilize the currency.
Persistent FII Selling Pressure continues to weigh heavily on Indian equities, particularly in large-cap segments. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, edged up over 1% to 11.84, pointing to increasing investor caution amid uncertain global and domestic triggers.
Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty Below 24,450 Amid Trump Tariffs and US-India Trade War
Despite the overall decline, market breadth showed signs of resilience. Nearly 88% of the Nifty 500 stocks recovered at least 1% from their intraday lows, indicating strong underlying support,” said Anand James of Geojit Financial Services. He noted that the Nifty is currently hovering around a key pivot of 24,590, with potential resistance targets at 24,670-24,717 and possibly 24,850-25,000 if momentum strengthens.