Sensex falls over 300 pts, Nifty below 24,500 as Trump doubles tariff; key highlights

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 opened lower on Thursday after the US imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on exports, denting investor sentiment. The weekly expiry of F&O contracts also added to market volatility.

At 9:23 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 80,346.99, down 197 points or 0.24 per cent. The 30-share index had earlier slipped 335 points. The NSE Nifty50 was down 62.20 points or 0.25 per cent at 24,512, after touching day's low of 24,460.05.

Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst - Research at Choice Equity Broking Private Limited, said the Indian benchmark indices are expected to open on a negative note today, as suggested by the GIFT Nifty, which indicates a decline of around 60 points in the Nifty 50. Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, dampened by persistent volatility and mixed global cues. 

Among Sensex stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank led losers, falling 1.18 per cent to Rs 1,978.50. Adani Ports declined 0.99 per cent. Other laggards included Eternal (down 0.99 per cent), Tata Steel (down 0.82 per cent), SBI (down 0.76 per cent), and Tata Motors (down 0.64 per cent).

Eternal stock is in focus on Thursday as Alibaba-backed Antfin Singapore Holding may offload its entire stake in the parent of Zomato and Blinkit for Rs 5,375 crore through a block deal. Antfin will reportedly offload 18.84 crore shares of the delivery tech firm at a floor price of Rs 285 apiece, reflecting a 5 per cent discount to the stock's previous close. The stock fell 1.34 per cent to Rs 294.90 in early trade.

“In the previous session, the Nifty index opened flat but faced selling pressure right from the start, remaining volatile throughout the day. It formed a bearish candlestick pattern with both upper and lower shadows on the daily chart, reflecting market indecision and profit booking at higher levels. Immediate support is placed at 24,500, with stronger support near 24,400—a breach below this zone could accelerate the downside,” Matalia said.

 “On the upside, resistance levels are observed at 24,700, 24,800, and 25,000. A decisive breakout above the 25,000 mark would be crucial to reverse the prevailing downtrend and attract fresh buying interest,”  Matalia added.

Domestic equity benchmarks had ended lower on Wednesday. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged and maintained a ‘neutral’ policy stance. 

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex declined 166.26 points or 0.21 per cent to 80,543.99, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 75.35 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 24,574.20.