Sensex drops 308 pts, Nifty settles below 24,650 as Trump tariff threat hurts sentiment

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 ended lower on Tuesday, as investor sentiment took a hit after the US President Donald Trump threatened India of additional tariffs over its Russian oil and arm imports.

At close, the BSE Sensex was down 308.47 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 80,710.25. The NSE Nifty50 declined 73.20 points, or 0.30 per cent, to settle at 24,649.55. The 50-pack index had traded with a negative bias throughout the day, remaining below the 50EMA, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. 

“On the daily chart as well, the index is comfortably placed below the 50EMA. The current range is 24,400–24,850, and in the short term, the index is likely to remain within this band. Only a decisive move beyond this range might determine the next course of action for the market," De said.

Adani Ports led Sensex losers, falling 2.02 per cent to Rs 1,362.50 apiece. Reliance Industries fell 1.52 per cent, followed by Infosys (down 1.37 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 1.19 per cent), Eternal (down 1.05 per cent), and Bharat Electronics (down 0.74 per cent).

Five stocks namely ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys and ITC contributed most to the Sensex’s decline. 

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd fell 2.02 per cent to Rs 1,362.50 apiece. This Adani group firm posted a 7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,311 crore for the June quarter compared with Rs 3,107 crore in the corresponding period last year. 

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said the market reversed Monday’s gains and lost nearly half a per cent, continuing the prevailing corrective trend. After an initial downtick, the Nifty moved in a narrow range and finally settled at 24,649.55 level, he said. 

“Lingering uncertainty over the tariff situation, following recent statements from the US President, along with a lack of major positive surprises from the earnings season, has been weighing on market sentiment,” Mishra added. 

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex fell 0.28 per cent, or 174.33 points, to end at 61,620.46. BSE Oil & Gas declined 0.96 per cent to settle at 26,149.90.

“All eyes are now on the outcome of the upcoming MPC meeting. While the committee is expected to hold rates steady amid global uncertainties, the tone of their commentary will be crucial. Amid this corrective phase, select stocks across sectors are showing noticeable strength and offering buying opportunities. Participants should therefore maintain a stock-specific approach and focus on prudent position sizing,” Mishra added.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said that despite positive global cues, domestic markets remained rangebound in negative territory. Oil & gas stocks led the decline amid concerns about future import restrictions on Russian oil. Weakness persisted on Pharma and IT stocks which are among the largest exporters to the US. Sentiment was also weighed by INR depreciation. 

“In contrast, auto stocks continue to gain traction from July volumes. Investors are now awaiting the upcoming RBI policy decision, where market has marginal expectations of a rate cut, in the near-term. Currently, the preferences of investors are for domestic consumption-driven stocks and sectors holding limited volatility to external factors," Nair added.

Out of 4,197 stocks that traded on the BSE today, 1,756 advanced, 2,288 declined, while 153 stayed unchanged.