Indian equity markets opened lower on Tuesday, tracking weak global trends, with selling pressure seen in IT, media, and private banking stocks during early trade.
At around 9:35 a.m., the BSE Sensex was down by 371.74 points, or 0.50%, trading at 73,743.43. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty fell 104.25 points, or 0.46%, to 22,356.05.
The Nifty Bank index declined by 349.75 points, or 0.73%, to 47,867.05. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 47,872.30 after falling 567.80 points, or 1.17%. Similarly, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped 252.05 points, or 1.66%, to 14,946.10.
Market analysts attributed the market decline to rising global uncertainties, particularly concerns surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies. The uncertainty has begun to impact U.S. stock markets, leading to sharp corrections.
“The steep declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq—falling by 2.6% and 4%, respectively, in the previous session—are a reflection of the market’s reaction to Trump’s tariff policies and growing fears of a U.S. recession by year-end. The situation remains fluid, and we need to monitor further developments,” analysts noted.
Despite the correction, Indian markets have shown resilience compared to their U.S. counterparts. Over the past month, while the S&P 500 has fallen by 7.5%, the Nifty has declined only 2.7%. Additionally, the U.S. dollar index has slipped from 109.3 when Trump assumed office to 103.71.
In the Sensex pack, major laggards included IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, M&M, Tata Motors, TCS, PowerGrid, NTPC, and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, ITC, Adani Ports, and Titan were among the top gainers.
Global markets also reflected weak sentiment, with key Asian indices, including those in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, trading in the red.
Meanwhile, in the previous trading session, Wall Street witnessed a significant downturn. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.08% to close at 41,911.71, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.70% to 5,614.56, and the Nasdaq plunged 4.00% to settle at 17,468.32.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree on March 10, offloading equities worth ₹485.41 crore. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support, purchasing equities worth ₹263.51 crore on the same day.
-IANS
