Domestic equity benchmarks declined on Tuesday, as the ripple effects of newly implemented US tariffs on major trading partners reverberated across trading floors. The Nifty 50 settled below the 22,100 level, suffering its tenth consecutive session of losses. This extended decline is primarily attributed to concerns surrounding potential retaliatory tariffs from China, Canada, and Mexico, following the US government's recent trade actions. Adding to the market's unease are fears of rising inflation in the US, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to postpone anticipated interest rate cuts. Persistent foreign fund outflows further dampened investor sentiment. Sector-wise, the IT sector, heavily exposed to the US market, experienced significant losses. Auto and FMCG shares also faced downward pressure, while select financial and PSU stocks managed to eke out gains.
The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 96.01 points or 0.13% to 72,989.93. The Nifty 50 index shed 36.65 points or 0.17% to 22,082.65. The 50-unit index is down 3.83% in ten consecutive sessions.
Bajaj Finserv (down 2.70%), Infosys (down 1.08%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.80%) were major drags.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.08%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.28%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2221 shares rose and 1737 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.49% to 13.83.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 1.71% to 6.852 as compared with previous close 6.847.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87.3000, compared with its close of 87.3200 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement rose 0.86% to Rs 86,090.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.27% to 106.26.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.38% to 4.164.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement shed 78 cents, or 1.09%, to $70.84 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia declined on Tuesday mirroring an overnight slump on Wall Street, after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada were set to take effect later in the day, and signed an order to increase levies on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%.
China vowed countermeasures against U.S. tariffs to safeguard its interests, while Canada prepared its own retaliation, their governments stated Tuesday.
Canada will immediately enact 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of US imports. This is part of a broader strategy targeting C$155 billion in American goods, with further tariffs to be introduced after a 21-day consultation period.
Japan's unemployment rate for January edged up to 2.5%, compared to 2.4% in the previous month, according to government data released on Tuesday.
South Korea's retail sales in January declined by 0.6% compared to the previous month. Revised estimates show a 0.2% increase in December. The S&P Global purchasing managers' index for South Korea fell to 49.9 in February from 50.3 the month before. This marks the fourth time in the last six months that the index has fallen below 50, which separates expansion from contraction.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell as Trump reiterated that 25% levies on imports from Mexico and Canada would go into effect Tuesday stateside.
The S&P 500 fell 1.76% to end the day at 5,849.72, marking this the benchmark's worst day since December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 649.67 points, or 1.48%, to finish at 43,191.24. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.64% to close at 18,350.19, weighed down by Nvidia's decline of more than 8%.
On the economic front, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is slated to speak Tuesday afternoon in New York.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Gensol Engineering hit a lower circuit limit of 20% to Rs 413.95 after a significant credit rating downgrade by CARE Ratings. The rating agency has downgraded Gensol's long-term bank facilities of Rs 639.70 crore from CARE BB+ (Stable) to CARE D, and its long-term/short-term bank facilities of Rs 76.30 crore from CARE BB+ (Stable) / CARE A4+ to CARE D / CARE D. This downgrade indicates a substantial increase in the perceived risk of default on the company's debt obligations. CARE Ratings cited ongoing delays in the servicing of Gensol's term loan obligations as the primary reason for the downgrade.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) fell 0.8%. The company announced its intention to challenge a $2.81 billion demand from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, following a recent ruling by the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court. The demand stems from a long-standing dispute concerning alleged gas migration from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) blocks to the KG-D6 Consortium's blocks, in which Reliance is a key partner. The Company is legally advised that the Division Bench judgment and this provisional demand are unsustainable, RIL stated in its disclosure.
Senores Pharmaceuticals rallied 6% after its subsidiary, Senores Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPI), USA, has signed agreements to acquire 14 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) from Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and its affiliates.
Ask Automotive jumped 5% after the company signed technical assistance and license agreement with Kyushu Yanagawa Seiki Co, Japan (KYSK) for cast wheel production.
DCM Shriram surged 8.85% after the company's board decided to evaluate the options for restructuring or reorganizing its businesses to leverage the strengths of each segment.
Krystal Integrated Services jumped 5.10% after the company announced the receipt of contracts for security and facility management services at three international airports in India.
Azad Engineering added 3% after the company raised Rs 700 crore via qualified institutional placement (QIP) by issuing 54.68 lakh shares at Rs 1,280 each, marking a 1.77% discount to the floor price of Rs 1,303.08.
HBL Engineering advanced 3.3% after the company announced that it has received letter of acceptance worth Rs 148 crore in the name of HBLShivakriti Consortium from Bhopal Division of West Central Railway.
JSW Energy added 2.08% after the company said that it has added 159 MW of greenfield wind power capacity in the current quarter, resulting in total operational capacity of 8,400 MW.
B.R. Goyal Infrastructure jumped 6.86% after the company has received a Rs 30.71 crore work order from Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation for the construction of a White Topping Road and other works from Mahila College Circle to Bhavnagar Airport, Gujarat.
Solar Industries India rose 0.62%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Solar Defence and Aerospace, has signed a contract worth Rs 239 crore with the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, for the supply of multi-mode handgrenade.
Suzlon Energy rose 0.72%. The company announced that it has secured a third order of 204.75 MW from Jindal Green Wind 1, a subsidiary of Jindal Renewables.
RateGain Travel Technologies rose 0.75% after the company announced a significant partnership with Mews, a leading provider of hospitality cloud solutions and Property Management Systems (PMS).
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