Wall Street to Dalal Street: Trump tariffs spark sell-off in equities as recession risk rises 

The overnight meltdown in US equities triggered a sell-off in Indian and Asian markets today as voices grew louder that US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcements have brought the global economy on the brink of a recession. 

Sensex and Nifty, which saw a limited impact of the tariff announcements on Thursday, followed their US peers on Friday and closed deep in the red. 

US market came under severe selling pressure on Thursday after US President Donald Trump's fresh tariffs on trading partners sparked fears of a full-blown trade war and a global recession.

Investors lost Rs 10 lakh crore amid a broad-based sell-off on BSE today. Sensex crashed 930 pts to 75,364 and Nifty tumbled 345 pts to 22,904. Investor wealth slipped by Rs 9.99 lakh crore to Rs 403.34 lakh crore today against Rs 413.33 lakh crore in the previous session. 

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 24 ended in the red. 

Tata Steel, Tata Motors, L&T, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS and  Infosys were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 8.6%. 

Midcaps and smallcaps, which escaped the tariff strike on Thursday, closed deep in the red in the current session. 
On BSE, the midcap index crashed 1287 pts to 40,508 and the small-cap index fell 1,627 pts to 45,867. 

Meanwhile, IT indices slipped for the second straight session after Trump announced tariffs on trading partners on April 2. The BSE IT index closed 1218 points lower at 33,075 against the previous close of 34,293. 

Similarly, Nifty IT index tumbled 3.58% or 1245 pts to 33,511. The tariff war started by Trump is seen hitting the US economy, thereby posing a threat for Indian IT firms, which earn a considerable chunk of their revenues from that country.

Market breadth was in the red. Out of 4076 stocks traded, 2820 slipped into losses. Around 1126 stocks ended higher while 130 stocks remained unchanged.

Around 9 stocks hit their lower circuits. On the other hand, 11 shares hit their upper circuits, amid weak sentiment on BSE.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said, "A long bearish candle was formed on the daily chart, which indicates a decisive downside breakout of the range movement. Technically, this pattern indicates selling momentum after the formation of double top type pattern around 23800 levels. Nifty on the weekly chart slipped into weakness after the formation of doji type candle pattern in last week. We observe negative reversal pattern in the last three weekly candles. Hence, more weakness could be in store. The short-term trend of Nifty remains weak and the downward correction seems to have gained momentum. Further weakness below 22,800 levels, Nifty could slide down to the next lower trajectory of around 22350 levels in the near term. Any pullback rally from here could find resistance around 23150 levels."

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, "The Nifty has given a consolidation breakdown on the daily chart, indicating bearishness. Initially, the index found support at the crucial 22,900 level. However, sentiment remains weak, and a further decline from the current level could trigger additional market correction. On the lower end, if Nifty falls below 22,900, it may move toward 22,676. On the higher end, resistance is seen at 23,100. A move above 23,100 would provide a clear signal for a strong uptrend."

Pharma stocks took a beating today after Trump warned of 'never seen before' tariffs on the sector. 

BSE healthcare index plunged 1339 pts or 3.20% today. Strides Pharma Science Ltd, Aarti Pharma (13.24%), Marksans Pharma (11.18%), Laurus Labs (7.40%) and IPCA Labs (6.53%) led the losers on the BSE. 

China, which was hit by an import tariff of 54% on April 2 announced retaliatory tariffs on the US today. It will impose an additional 34% tariff on all US goods, effective April 10. 

Retaliatory measures on the US economy by countries will trigger a full-blown trade war and push the global economy into recession. 

JPMorgan's Chief Economist Bruce Kasman has estimated a 60% likelihood of a global recession in 2025, a significant increase from the previous forecast of 40%.

US markets crash 

Overnight, US markets tumbled with NASDAQ Composite Index slipping 1050.44 pts or 5.97% to 16,550 and S&P 500 index ending 274 points lower at 5,396. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,679 points or 4% to 40,545 on Thursday.

S&P 500 lost $2.4 trillion while Nasdaq Composite Index saw its biggest daily fall since March 2020

 Asian markets . 

Japan's Nikkei ended 955 pts lower at 33,534. Japan which would be charged 24% additional tariffs had condemned the move and promised 'bold and speedy' response to Trump's surprise tariffs.

Singapore's Strait Times slipped 117 pts to 3,825. Kospi was down 21 pts to 2465.

European markets

On Friday, European markets extended losses on Trump's fresh tariffs. UK’s FTSE fell 305 pts to 8,139. France's CAC slipped 288 pts to 7,311 and DAX was trading 880 points lower at 20,837.

Previous session

Sensex closed 322 pts lower at 76,295 and Nifty ended 82 points lower at 23,250.