Sensex Dips Over 1,100 Points Amid Concerns Over US Reciprocal Tariffs

Indian benchmark indexes plummeted on Tuesday, led mainly by the slide in IT and financial sector shares, after investors became cautious ahead of the US reciprocal tariffs that are to be imposed from April 2.

At 11:05 am, the Sensex fell 1,136.25 points, or 1.47%, to 76,260.90, and the Nifty declined 283.70 points, or 1.21%, to 23,231.20.

The decline was not restricted to big-cap shares as midcap and smallcap indices also exhibited sharp declines. Nifty midcap 100 dipped by 359.10 points, or 0.69%, at 51,313.35, while the Nifty smallcap 100 dipped by 99.35 points, or 0.61%, at 15,997.15.

Sectorally, the Nifty IT index declined sharply by more than 2%, with financial services, pharma, metal, realty, and auto stocks also witnessing steep declines.

Of the Sensex stocks, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Nestle, ITC, and Bharti Airtel were the gainers, while Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech, TCS, and Sun Pharma were the losers.

Krishna Appala of Capitalmind Research commented that investor mood is still cautious considering the global economic uncertainties. "Potential tariff announcements and their economic implications are crucial determinants of current market sentiment," Appala said.

In the future, analysts forecast further short-term fluctuations based on worldwide factors. Nonetheless, India's solid domestic market fundamentals present a solid base for a positive long-term prognosis. Under such circumstances, investment products such as gold may have a stabilizing influence in portfolios alongside other strategies.

Unlike the Indian markets, nearly all leading Asian markets were in the green. Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, and Hong Kong markets were trading higher.

The US stock markets indicated a revival, rebounding from a seven-month low on Monday by 1%.

While this, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) became net sellers on March 28 and sold equities worth Rs 4,352 crore. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, extended their buying run and bought equities valued at Rs 7,646 crore on the day.