The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty plummeted on Friday after a massive sell-off took place triggered by fears of a global trade war following Donald Trump's tariff announcement on US imports.
Sensex dipped by 930.67 points, or 1.22 per cent, settling at 75,364.69, while Nifty declined by 345.65, or 1.49 per cent, closing at 22, 904.45.
The sell-off also affected markets on Thursday, when the Sensex fell by 322.08 points to close at 76,295.36, and Nifty fell by 82.25 points to settle at 23,250.10.
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Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president (research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, told news agency PTI, that investors were spooked due to the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump, which would likely fuel recession and drive inflation upwards.
In particular, there was a sharp fall in metal and oil stocks. Trump announced a 25 per cent duty on steel, aluminium, and foreign cars. A 26 per cent tariff was imposed on India, spelling trouble for India's major exports such as for mobile phones, metal, jewellery, pharmaceutical and petroleum products.
{{/usCountry}}In particular, there was a sharp fall in metal and oil stocks. Trump announced a 25 per cent duty on steel, aluminium, and foreign cars. A 26 per cent tariff was imposed on India, spelling trouble for India's major exports such as for mobile phones, metal, jewellery, pharmaceutical and petroleum products.
{{/usCountry}}Nifty Pharma was down 6.2 per cent, Nifty Metal fell 5.3 per cent and other sectors like IT, Auto, Realty, and Oil & Gas also faced 2–4 per cent losses.
Tata Steel was the biggest loser in the Sensex today, sliding 8.59 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharmaceutical, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and NTPC.
Global oil benchmark Brent Crude also fell 3.26 per cent to settle at $67.85 a barrel.
"Crude oil prices plunged after the US President announced heavy reciprocal trade tariffs, triggering fears of slower global demand. A sharp tariff hike on China spooked energy markets, leading to crude oil's biggest single-day fall in three years," Rahul Kalantri, VP commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd, told PTI.
Markets in Japan, Korea and Europe also experienced a slowdown after the imposition of the new tariffs.