E-Paper
Sensex slips as much as 1,000 points, Nifty 50 below 25,000 as trade-war selloff deepens
A choppy earnings season led by Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank isn't helping matters either for India's stock market.
India's stock market was lower at the opening bell today, after a bruising selloff in the previous session, tracking global peers convulsed by US President Donald Trump's tantrums on Greenland.
The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 1.28%, or 1,056.02 points, from previous close to an intraday low of 81,124.45, while the wider Nifty 50 eased 1.23% to an intraday low of 24,919.80. All the major sectoral indices were in the red. The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost up to 1.14% each. The Nifty IT index was the top sectoral loser—down 1%.
On Tuesday, the equity benchmarks lost about 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively—their steepest single-day percentage drop in more than eight months, and logged their lowest closing levels in more than three months.
Equities have come under pressure from elevated global trade and geopolitical uncertainty sparked by Trump's threats to acquire Greenland and reignite a trade war with the European Union. A choppy domestic results season marked by misses from heavyweights such as Reliance Industries Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. isn't helping matters either.
“If the threatened tariffs come into effect, Europe will retaliate and this will lead to a trade war with bad consequences for global trade and global growth,” V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd., said in an emailed statement.
“If such a scenario plays out stock markets will witness further selling. On the other hand, if Trump chickens out as he had done in the past, or succumbs to pressure, markets will rebound.”
Stocks in News
- Shoppers Stop Ltd. fell 9.5% and PTC India Financial Services Ltd. slid 5% after reporting quarterly profit declines.
- CreditAccess Grameen Ltd. jumped 8.1% after posting a third quarter profit compared to a loss in the year-ago period.
- Indiamart Intermesh Ltd. and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Ltd. gained 3.5% each on upbeat results.
- Persistent Systems Ltd. fell 3.5% despite posting a rise in quarterly profit as multiple brokerages projected limited upside.
