Indian stock markets kicked off Thursday under heavy selling pressure, rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement that sent global markets into a tailspin. Investors, spooked by the news, triggered a steep drop in benchmark indices right at the opening bell.
The BSE Sensex cratered by more than 800 points, starting the day at 75,811.12—a decline of 1.05%. The NSE Nifty 50 followed suit, shedding 182.05 points to open at 23,150.30, down 0.78%.
Analysts pinned the downturn on Trump’s reciprocal tariff decision, which drove investors to pile into safe-haven assets like gold, amplifying the equity sell-off. Speaking to ANI, banking and market expert Ajay Bagga explained, “The fallout for India will stem from the U.S. dollar’s strength, economic strain from potential export drops, and disrupted emerging market flows as investors turn to gold, the Yen, Swiss franc, and Japanese bonds. With uncertainty now a reality, the knee-jerk response is to ditch risky assets for safer bets.”
Market watchers also raised concerns about brewing U.S.-China currency friction. A Chinese currency devaluation to counter the tariffs could deepen the chaos, fueling further equity losses and capital outflows.
Sector performance painted a grim picture: Nifty Auto slumped 1.25%, Nifty IT tumbled 1.67%, and Nifty Metals dipped 0.81%. Bucking the trend, the pharma sector surged 2.95%, unscathed by Trump’s tariff policy.
Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, noted, “Asia’s markets are bleeding red after the tariff bombshell, setting the Nifty up for a shaky start. Key support levels at 23,090-23,141 and the pivotal 22,800-23,000 range will be under scrutiny. Today’s close will reveal whether bulls or bears hold the edge now that the news is out.”
The ripple effect hit Asian markets hard. Japan’s Nikkei 225 nosedived 3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.45%, and South Korea’s Kospi lost over 1%. Across the Pacific, U.S. futures foreshadowed a rocky day ahead, with Dow Jones Futures sliding 1.94% at the time of reporting.