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EQUITY
Key gauges end lower on Thursday
Apr-03-2025

Indian equity benchmarks settled lower on Thursday due to selling in IT and TECK shares and a global sell-off as US President Donald Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries, including India. IT and auto sectors experienced selling pressure due to US slowdown concerns and disruptions in the supply chain. Conversely, pharmaceutical stocks benefited from being exempt from the tariffs.

Some of the important factors in today’s trade: 

FPIs stay net sellers for third session in row: Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) stayed net sellers on Wednesday for the third straight session as they offloaded equities worth Rs 1,538.88 crore. On Tuesday, the FPIs net sold equities worth Rs 5,901.63 crore. 

India's exports to Australia rise by 4.4% during April-February 2024-25: Commerce ministry said that India's exports to Australia have risen by 4.4 per cent year-on-year during April-February 2024-25 due to the free trade agreement implemented by both the countries in 2022.

Pharma, semiconductors, energy products exempt from Trump's tariffs on India: The GTRI has said that essential and strategic items such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products like oil, gas, coal and LNG are exempted from the 27 per cent import duty announced by the US. Overall, it said that the USA's protectionist tariff regime could act as a catalyst for India to gain from global supply chain realignments. 

Easing crude oil prices: Oil prices fell on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs which investors worry will enflame a global trade war that will curtail economic growth and limit fuel demand.

Rupee recovers against US dollar: Indian rupee pared its initial losses and settled higher for the day as the greenback weakened against its major peers after President Donald Trump unleashed reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries.

Weak global cues: European markets were trading lower amid fears of a global trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump announced steep ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on major trading partners. Asian markets settled down on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent universal tariff on most imported goods along with additional high tariffs on countries the U.S. considers ‘worst offenders’ based on trade deficits and non-tariff barriers. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 322.08 points or 0.42% to 76,295.36, and the CNX Nifty was down by 82.25 points or 0.35% to 23,250.10.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 76,493.74 and 75,807.55 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.44%, Power up by 1.83%, Healthcare up by 1.82%, PSU up by 1.18% and Telecom up by 0.75%, while IT down by 3.78%, TECK down by 2.85%, Auto down by 1.14%, Metal down by 0.99% and Oil & Gas down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 4.34%, Sun Pharma up by 3.26%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.92%, NTPC up by 1.97% and Asian Paints up by 1.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.79%, HCL Technologies down by 3.71%, Infosys down by 3.41% and Tata Motors down by 2.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that essential and strategic items such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products like oil, gas, coal and LNG are exempted from the 27 per cent import duty announced by the US. Overall, it said that the USA's protectionist tariff regime could act as a catalyst for India to gain from global supply chain realignments. 

However, GTRI said to fully leverage these opportunities, India has to enhance its ease of doing business, invest in logistics and infrastructure, and maintain policy stability. If these conditions are met, India is well-positioned to become a key global manufacturing and export hub in the coming years. It noted that the imposition of higher reciprocal tariffs by the US on several Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, and Bangladesh, presents an opportunity for India to strengthen its position in global trade and manufacturing.  

However, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said gains will not accrue automatically, and India needs deep reforms for enabling scale production, domestic value addition and improving competitiveness to benefit. With the US setting a relatively lower reciprocal tariff rate of 27 per cent on Indian goods, compared to 54 per cent on China, 46 per cent on Vietnam, 37 per cent on Bangladesh, and 36 per cent on Thailand, India gains a natural competitive advantage in several key sectors. He added that one of the most prominent areas of opportunity lies in textiles and garments as the high tariffs on Chinese and Bangladeshi exports create room for Indian textile manufacturers to gain market share, attract relocated production, and increase exports to the US.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,306.50 and 23,145.80. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation up by 4.60%, Sun Pharma up by 3.41%, Cipla up by 3.28%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.06% and Shriram Finance up by 2.30%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.97%, HCL Technologies down by 3.87%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.73%, Infosys down by 3.51% and ONGC down by 2.81% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 129.45 points or 1.5% to 8,479.03, France’s CAC fell 194.77 points or 2.48% to 7,664.06 and Germany’s DAX lost 502.04 points or 2.24% to 21,888.80.

Asian markets settled down on Thursday due to escalating global trade tensions after US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imports to the United States along with additional high tariffs on countries the US considers worst offenders based on trade deficits and non-tariff barriers. Moreover, Japanese markets lead losses as a stronger yen dented exporters. China's Shanghai index fell, despite growing optimism that China will take more steps to shield the economy from Trump tariffs. Markets in Indonesia and Taiwan closed for a public holiday.

sian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,342.01

-8.12

-0.24

Hang Seng

22,849.81

-352.72

-1.54

Jakarta Composite

--

--

--

KLSE Composite

1,518.91

-7.61

-0.50

Nikkei 225

34,735.93

-989.94

-2.85

Straits Times

3,942.23

-11.98

-0.30

KOSPI Composite

2,486.70

-19.16

-0.77

Taiwan Weighted

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--

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