Stock Market Opens Lower as Global Tariff War Deepens, Nifty Below 22,000
At around 9.30 am, the Sensex was trading 363.22 points, or 0.50 percent, lower at 72,722.72, while the Nifty declined by 125.80 points, or 0.57 percent, at 21,993.50.
Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Tuesday amid weak global cues, with selling observed in the auto and IT sectors during early trade.
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At around 9.30 am, the Sensex was trading 363.22 points, or 0.50 percent, lower at 72,722.72, while the Nifty declined by 125.80 points, or 0.57 percent, at 21,993.50.
Experts say that the uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump‘s actions is worsening the global trade situation.
Global Tariff Tensions Escalate
“The 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico and the 20 percent tariff on China (with an additional 10 percent imposed now) is escalating threats into action. The retaliation to these tariffs from Trump’s administration is still unknown, but responses are expected,” analysts noted.
In retaliation to Trump’s tariff hike, Canada will impose 25 percent tariffs on US imports worth 30 billion Canadian dollars starting Tuesday. Additionally, it plans to impose tariffs on US imports worth 125 billion Canadian dollars over the next 21 days.
Nifty and Sectoral Performance
Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank index was down by 91.80 points, or 0.19 percent, at 48,022.50. The Nifty Midcap 100 index stood at 47,100.65 after falling 883.50 points, or 1.84 percent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 14,409.35, down 251.50 points, or 1.72 percent.
Market watchers have noted that the Nifty has immediate support at 22,000, followed by 21,850 and 21,600, while resistance is seen at 22,500, 22,600, and 22,800.
“A breakdown below 22,000 could intensify selling pressure toward 21,800, while a recovery above 22,500 may trigger a relief rally. The index remains in a sideways to bearish phase, and a decisive breakout is needed for a trend reversal,” stated Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking.
Also Read: Indian Stock Market Opens Higher on Strong GDP Growth Data
Sensex Stock Performance
Among the top losers in the Sensex pack were Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Nestle India, Infosys, Tata Steel, M&M, and Titan. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and SBI were the top gainers.
Global Markets and Institutional Activity
In the previous trading session, the Dow Jones fell by 1.48 percent to close at 43,191.24, the S&P 500 dropped by 1.76 percent to 5,849.72, and the Nasdaq declined by 2.64 percent to close at 18,350.19.
In the Asian markets, only Bangkok was trading in the green, while China, Japan, Seoul, Jakarta, and Hong Kong were all in the red.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak for the eighth consecutive day, offloading equities worth Rs 4,788.29 crore on March 3. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,790.70 crore on the same day.
