Indian equities clawed back some losses by midday on March 4, even as the U.S.'s sweeping tariffs on key trading partners—China, Canada, and Mexico—sent shockwaves through global markets.
At 12 PM, the Sensex was down 154 points or 0.2 percent at 72,931, and the Nifty was down 45 points or 0.2 percent at 22,073. About 2,196 shares advanced, 1,239 shares declined, and 126 shares were unchanged. However, the Nifty 50 stayed in the red for the tenth straight session, putting it on track for its longest daily losing streak since its inception nearly three decades ago.
"Uncertainty unleashed by Trump is aggravating in global trade," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
The U.S. has officially implemented a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, while Chinese goods now face a cumulative 20 percent duty following an additional 10 percent levy. In a further escalation, reciprocal tariffs will kick in from April 2, intensifying concerns over trade disruptions and financial market instability.
Beyond direct trade implications, these tariffs could drive inflation higher in the U.S., potentially forcing the Federal Reserve to maintain elevated interest rates for longer—a scenario that could dampen foreign investment in emerging markets like India.
"If Trump tariff policy continues like this and soon starts impacting other countries, it will be bad for global trade and the global economy. India will not be spared," Vijayakumar warned.
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He also noted that rising inflation in the U.S. could push the Federal Reserve toward a more hawkish stance, which could trigger a steep correction—possibly even a crash—in the overheated U.S. stock market.
The broader markets staged a strong recovery, with the BSE Midcap index up 0.3 percent, while the BSE Smallcap index surged over 1 percent.
In sectoral action, five of the 13 Nifty sectoral indices remained in negative territory, with FMCG and IT stocks dragging the market lower.
IT companies, which get a substantial portion of their revenue from the U.S., fell 0.7%, with Infosys and HCLTech dragging the index down. Data signalling rise in price pressures in the U.S. also hurt IT stocks. Infosys and HCLTech led sectoral losses, falling 0.7 percent, tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s nearly 3 percent decline overnight.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, the top laggards were Bajaj Auto, Nestlé, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finserv, and Titan, falling 2 to 3 percent. Meanwhile, SBI, BEL, Trent, Tata Steel, and BPCL emerged as the top gainers, rising 1 to 3 percent.
SBI bucked the weak market trend after global brokerage firm Citi issued a 'double upgrade', moving its rating two notches up—from 'sell' to 'buy'. Citi also hiked SBI’s price target to Rs 830 from Rs 720, implying a potential upside of nearly 20 percent from its previous close.
Meanwhile, ASK Automotive surged to a 5 percent upper circuit following its strategic partnership with Japan’s Kyushu Yanagawa Seiki to manufacture high-pressure diecast alloy wheels for two-wheelers.
The Sensex and Nifty were down 18 percent and 19 percent, respectively, from their record highs in September, weighed down by growth concerns, weak corporate earnings, relentless foreign selling, and trade-related uncertainty.
According to Axis Securities, 22,129 is the key trend-deciding level for the Nifty. If Nifty trades above this level, it could rally to 22,252–22,385–22,509. If it falls below 22,129, profit booking could drag it down to 21,995–21,872–21,739.
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