 "Stock market crashes! Bears claw away 1,200 points from Sensex, Nifty below 23,300")
The first trading day of the new financial year witnessed bloodbath on Dalal Street as bears mauled benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50.
At around 11:40 am on Tuesday (April 1), 30-share BSE Sensex was down 1189.29 points or 1.54 per cent at 76,225.63.
At the same time, the broader Nifty 50 index fared only marginally better, losing 1.3 per cent or 306.6 points to hover around 23,212.75.
In both the Sensex and Nifty packs, banking and IT stocks led the decline. Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, and HCL Tech were the top laggards among the shares that make up the benchmark indices.
Trump tariffs weigh down market sentiment
Trump’s planned implementation of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which he has dubbed “ Liberation Day ” for the US, weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
The US has already imposed tariffs on major trade partners, including Canada, Mexico, and China, and is considering additional tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum, copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lumber.
“If the tariffs are lower-than-feared there can be a rally in the market which will be led by externally linked sectors like pharmaceuticals and IT. On the other hand if the tariffs are severe there can be another round of downturn in the market. Investors can wait and watch and respond after the details are known,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
Rupee depreciation, FII selling
On March 28, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to sell off equities, with net sales amounting to Rs 4,352 crore. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) maintained their buying trend for the second consecutive day, acquiring equities worth Rs 7,646 crore.
Additionally, the Indian rupee fell by 32 paise, reaching a value of 85.47 against the US dollar in early trading. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, decreased by 0.14 per cent, settling at 104.04.
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