Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets experienced a downturn, snapping their seven-day winning streak, as global uncertainties and sectoral weakness weighed on sentiment. Indices made a cautious start, as investors waited for more clarity on how the US reciprocal tariffs, which will take effect on April 2, 2025, will impact the domestic economy. In the afternoon session, markets slipped deep into the red and continued to trade lower, pressured by heavy selling in banking and financial stocks. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

S&P cuts India's GDP growth forecast to 6.5% for next fiscal: Some concern also came as S&P Global Ratings cut India’s GDP growth projections to 6.5 per cent for the next fiscal as it expects that economies in the APAC region will feel the strain of rising US tariffs and pushback on globalisation.

India-US to expand market access, cut duties & barriers: Traders overlooked Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada’s statement that India and the US would focus on increasing market access, reducing import duty and non-tariff barriers, and enhancing supply chain integration in the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

Foreign fund inflows: Traders paid no attention toward foreign fund inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 5,371.57 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. 

Global front: European markets were trading in red, ahead of a looming deadline for implementing additional U.S. tariffs. Most of the Asian markets ended in green, even as deteriorating U.S. consumer confidence in the face of tariff fears coincided with economists' forecasts suggesting a risk of stagflation and rising odds of recession.

The BSE Sensex ended at 77288.50, down by 728.69 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 77194.22 and 78167.87. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.67%, while Small cap index down by 1.45%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Capital Goods up by 0.05% while, Oil & Gas down by 1.52%, Realty down by 1.37%, Healthcare down by 1.36%, PSU down by 1.35% and Utilities down by 1.32% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.36%, Power Grid up by 0.50%, Titan Company up by 0.16% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.13%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.45%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.97%, Eternal down by 2.53%, Axis Bank down by 2.29% and Bajaj Finance down by 2.18% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Finance Bill 2025 provides unprecedented tax relief, and the 13.14 per cent projected growth in personal income tax collection is ‘realistic’ and supported by solid data. She said the customs duty rationalisation announced in the Budget will support manufacturing units, domestic value addition, promote exports, facilitate trade and also provide relief to the common people. 

The minister noted that in the 2025-26 Budget, the government has hiked income tax rebate to Rs 12 lakh per annum from Rs 7 lakh earlier. For the salaried class, this rebate will be Rs 12.75 lakh per year after taking into account the standard deduction. The hike in I-T rebate will lead to tax foregone to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY26. She said the Budget also provides ‘marginal relief’ under the Income Tax law for those taxpayers whose income exceeds Rs 12 lakh per annum by a small margin. 

She further stated that collections in personal income tax have shown considerable buoyancy in the last few years and they have been increasing around 20 per cent year-on-year. For the year 2025-26, the personal income tax collection is projected at Rs 13.6 lakh crore. The Revised Estimates for 2024-25 is Rs 12.2 lakh crore. So, Rs 12.2 lakh crore is going to be Rs 13.6 lakh and this is done with a certain realistic calculation. The personal I-T revenue is projected to grow by 13.14 per cent in FY26, after taking into account a 7 per cent dip after factoring in the Rs 1 lakh crore revenue foregone. So, the projected collections for income tax for 2025-26 are based on solid data. 

With regard to an amendment regarding the abolition of the 6 per cent Equalisation Levy on online advertisements, Sitharaman said it was done to address uncertainty in the international economic conditions. Talking about Customs tariff rationalisation, she said the Budget 2025 aims to boost domestic production and enhance export competitiveness by reducing duties on raw materials and inputs, making domestic products more cost-effective.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23486.85, down by 181.80 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 23451.70 and 23736.50. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 2.86%, Trent up by 2.64%, HCL Technologies up by 0.52%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.50% and Grasim Industries up by 0.47%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.35%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.69%, Cipla down by 2.32%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.22% and BPCL down by 2.19% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; Germany’s DAX lost 194.06 points or 0.85% to 22,915.73, France’s CAC fell 67.15 points or 0.84% to 8,041.44 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 2.11 points or 0.02% to 8,661.69.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight, despite a sharp decline in US consumer confidence for the fourth consecutive month and uncertainty over tariffs. Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody's has warned on the US fiscal outlook, saying US President Dinald Trump's policies could make it more difficult to offset rising deficit and debt. Seoul shares gained as technology and auto shares surge amid relief over the US President's recent comments on tariff sanctions. Also, a survey showed that Korea's business sentiment rebounded for the first time in five months in March. Further, Japanese shares rose after Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take strong measures to curb soaring prices. However, Chinese shares declined marginally after the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index tumbled for a sixth consecutive day, marking its longest losing streak in more than a year.