Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets witnessed bloodbath on Monday, with both the Nifty and Sensex slipping deep into the red as fears over a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs fueled a risk-off mood. Indices made sharp gap-down opening and remained under pressure throughout the session, trading deep in negative territory. All sectors were in the red, with IT, metals, and banks among the worst hit.

Some of the important factors in trade:

FIIs offload Rs 3,484 crore in equities: Traders were cautious as exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,483.98 crore on a net basis on Friday.

US tariffs could lead to increased dumping in India: Sentiments remained weak as CareEdge Ratings in a report said the imposition of high reciprocal tariffs by the US on other competing nations raises the possibility of increased dumping by those nations in India, as well as in other export markets, which could negatively impact certain sectors.

India's exports projected to cross $800 billion in 2024-25: Traders overlooked India’s forex reserves rise to $665.4 billion: Reserve Bank of India stating that India's foreign exchange reserves rose from $6.596 billion to $665.396 billion in the week that ended on March 28, extending gains for the fourth straight week.

Global front: European markets were trading in the red after reports suggested the European Union is gearing up to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Asian markets ended in red amid ongoing concerns about a global trade war after China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's new levies that could fuel inflation and damage the global economy.

The BSE Sensex is ended at 73137.90, down by 2226.79 points or 2.95% after trading in a range of 71425.01 and 73403.99. There was 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 3.46%, while Small cap index down by 4.13%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 6.22%, Realty down by 5.69%, Basic Materials down by 4.68%, Industrials down by 4.57% and Capital Goods down by 4.34%, while there was no gaining sectoral index on the BSE (Provisional)

The only gainer on the Sensex was Eternal up by 0.17%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 7.16%, Tata Motors down by 5.35%, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 4.33% and Axis Bank down by 3.42% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the State Bank of India (SBI) in its latest report has said that India should strengthen its Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in light of growing global trade competitiveness, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India. It stated that India has a strong opportunity to benefit from the global shift in trade, especially with the U.S. imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

It recommended that the Indian government expand the current PLI schemes across key sectors like textiles, engineering goods, and gems and jewellery. It suggests widening the coverage of the scheme to include more products and extending its duration by three more years. This would help boost investments in domestic industries and make Indian products more competitive in the global market.

It said ‘The Indian government should expand existing Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in these sectors to cover a wider range of products and extend their duration by 3 years, thereby bolstering domestic industries’ investment and global competitiveness.’ One of the key areas where India stands to gain is in exports to the U.S. With tariffs on Chinese goods going up, India can increase its market share in sectors such as textiles, apparel, and footwear. Additionally, India has manufacturing strength in iron and steel products, which can also benefit from these trade changes.

The CNX Nifty ended at 22161.60, down by 742.85 points or 3.24% after trading in a range of 21743.65 and 22254.00. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The few gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.24%, Eternal up by 0.22% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.08%. On the flip side, Trent down by 14.61%, JSW Steel down by 7.53%, Tata Steel down by 7.23%, Hindalco down by 6.36% and Larsen & Toubro down by 5.31% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 401.29 points or 5.52% to 6,873.66, Germany’s DAX lost 1101.03 points or 5.33% to 19,540.69 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 349.54 points or 4.34% to 7,705.44.

Asian markets settled deeply in red on Monday tracking Wall Street’s fall last Friday as global sell-off worsened on escalating trade tensions and recession fears in the United States and on signs that the US President Donald Trump's administration is unlikely to soften its sweeping tariff regime. Chinese shares slumped due to panic selling following China’s retaliation against Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. Japanese shares declined sharply as Donald Trump reiterated his resolve on tariffs and indicated he wasn't concerned about the massive selloffs.