Markets magnify opening losses as Trump reiterated reciprocal tariffs plans for India

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-down opening on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated reciprocal tariffs plans for India. US President Donald Trump has said that his administration will soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the US capital. Sensex and Nifty soon extended their losses and were trading lower with cut of around a percent each in early deals. Selling in all the sector indices dragged the markets lower. Foreign fund outflows also dented sentiments. Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 23,710 crore from the Indian equity markets so far this month, pushing total outflows past Rs 1 trillion in 2025 amid rising global trade tensions. Besides, the RBI said snapping the three-week rising streak, India’s forex reserves dropped by $2.54 billion to $635.721 billion in the week ended February 14.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly lower, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders reacted to a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by much more than expected in February amid a surge by year-ahead inflation expectations. The Japanese stock market is closed on Monday in observance of the Emperor's birthday.

Back home, in stock specific development, RailTel Corporation gained on winning the Kavach tender for 71 stations. On the other hand, Jagsonpal Pharmaceuticals traded under pressure after receiving a warning from the U.S. FDA for significant manufacturing lapses at its Rajasthan-based API plant.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74616.78, down by 694.28 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 74554.29 and 74907.04. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.25%, while Small cap index was down by 1.40%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were IT down by 2.13%, Telecom down by 2.00%, TECK down by 1.99%, Power down by 1.21% and Industrials down by 1.14%, while there was no gainer on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.95%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.69%, Sun Pharma up by 0.62%, Tata Motors up by 0.36% and Nestle up by 0.33%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.84%, TCS down by 1.84%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.81%, Infosys down by 1.70% and ICICI Bank down by 1.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, praising the Union budget, Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has said that the budget aims to make a healthy economy by setting a proper roadmap with a long-term vision. He added that time has changed in the last 10 years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over.

He said ‘The prime minister has a vision of a developed India by 2047. With a long-term vision, the PM has also laid out his roadmap step by step in every budget’. He also said ‘Our budget aims to build a healthy economy. Each budget for the last ten years is taking the country a step forward’.

The minister highlighted various budget announcements and said that all the sectors have been taken care of in the budget. He said ‘The budget also prioritised infrastructure development and a proper roadmap has been laid out in the budget. The priority was also given to the health sector with a vision to include more poor people under the Ayushmann Yojana.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22582.55, down by 213.35 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 22563.20 and 22668.05. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.37%, Eicher Motors up by 0.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.75%, Sun Pharma up by 0.72% and BPCL up by 0.60%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.72%, Wipro down by 2.58%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.89%, Shriram Finance down by 1.83% and TCS down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 196.41 points or 0.83% to 23,533.84, Hang Seng declined 129.1 points or 0.55% to 23,348.82, Jakarta Composite fell 49.05 points or 0.72% to 6,753.95, KOSPI dropped 18.84 points or 0.71% to 2,635.74 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.82 points or 0.11% to 3,375.29, while Straits Times was up by 12.22 points or 0.31% to 3,942.16.