Sensex plunges 600 points as Trump's tariffs shake global markets
What's the story
Indian stock markets witnessed a fall in today's opening session, with the BSE Sensex losing over 600 points to trade at 76,910. This is a loss of nearly 0.8%.
The Nifty index also fell by about 0.9% to nearly 23,271.
The decline comes as US President Donald Trump's recent tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico have sent global markets into a tizzy.
Market reaction
Trump's tariffs trigger global market volatility
Despite India not being directly targeted by Trump's tariffs, the impact was felt on Indian indices.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, explained to ANI that "A doom loop starts for global economies and markets start going down in anticipation."
He further stated "Trump 2.0 fears are at the center of the plate today" and predicted safe haven buying of gold, Swiss franc, Yen as potential refuge points during these tariff wars.
Sector impact
Sectoral indices bear the brunt of market volatility
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), all sectoral indices except Nifty Pharma witnessed selling pressure in today's opening session.
Out of the Nifty 50 list, 45 stocks were on a downward trend in today's opening session.
Nifty IT took the biggest hit, falling by over 1%, followed closely by Nifty Metal and Nifty Bank which both slipped by nearly 0.87%.
However, Nifty Auto remained relatively stable amid the market turmoil.
Global impact
Asian indices follow suit amid global market instability
Asian indices also mirrored the trend seen in Indian markets, with most trading in red.
The Taiwan Weighted Index faced the highest selling pressure, down by over 4%.
South Korea's KOSPI declined by more than 3%, Japan's Nikkei lost 2.48% and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was down 1.79%.
This widespread decline across Asian markets further underscores the global impact of Trump's tariffs.