Indian stocks slump over Trump tariffs shock, Sensex dips over 900 points

Sensex closed at 75,364.69 points, down 930.67 points or 1.22 per cent, while Nifty closed at 22,904.45 points, down 345.65 points or 1.49 per cent, respectively. At one point, Sensex dropped over 1,000 points, only to erase some losses before the day's closing. IT, metal, pharma, realty, oil and gas, were the top losers today, data showed.

The Sensex slumped about 2,100 points this week when the Trump administration implemented reciprocal tariffs on trading partners as part of the "Fair and Reciprocal Plan". Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade.

Equity markets worldwide slumped after US President Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs stoked fears of an all-out trade war and a global economic recession.

"Global equity markets witnessed a sharp selloff in the aftermath of the US imposing reciprocal tariffs on most major economies. Indian Indices outperformed, as Indian markets did not react as much as other markets yesterday, following the news flows on tariffs," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, "The recent implementation of higher-than-anticipated U.S. tariffs has had a significant impact on global markets, triggering a bearish trend as investors assess the broader implications. The likelihood of retaliatory measures against the U.S. has further heightened uncertainty."

"Domestically, while the direct impact of these tariffs is relatively moderate compared to other major economies, it remains more substantial than initially projected. As Q4 approaches, a sequential improvement in corporate performance is anticipated. However, prevailing weak market sentiment suggests that the phase of consolidation may persist in the near term," Nair added.

The US President issued an executive order on reciprocal tariffs, imposing additional ad valorem duties ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent on imports from all trading partners.

The baseline duty of 10 percent will be effective from April 05, 2025, and the remaining country-specific additional ad valorem duty will be effective from April 09, 2025.

The additional duty on India is 27 per cent.