Sensex crashes 554 points, Nifty sheds 179 amid global trade tensions and RBI policy anticipation

“With massive 104 per cent tariffs on China expected to take effect today, markets are in turmoil and uncertainty is at its peak. The future of global trade and the broader economy amid this chaos is still unclear,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices slumped in early trade on Wednesday after a day’s breather in line with losses in Asian markets amid escalating trade tensions as domestic investors eye the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decision to be announced later in the day.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 554.02 points to 73,673.06 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 178.85 points to 22,357.

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“With a whopping 104 per cent tariffs on China likely to kick in today, there is blood on the streets. Uncertainty reigns supreme. How global trade and the global economy evolve from this chaos remains to be seen,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Vijayakumar further said two things are clear: India will be one of the large economies least impacted by this Trump shake-out.

“Our domestic consumption segments are resilient. The 25 bps cut in policy rates expected in the monetary policy announcement today can give a further monetary stimulus to the economy. The crash in crude is a big positive for the Indian economy. Of course, a global recession, or worse, stagflation, can do a lot of damage,” he added.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC were among the biggest laggards.

Power Grid, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index, South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower while Shanghai SSE Composite index quoted marginally higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 3.63 per cent.

US markets ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,994.24 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“Markets brace for heightened volatility amid the US imposing 104 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, effective April 9, in response to Beijing’s 34 per cent duties on US goods,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

All eyes are on RBI monetary policy announcement with expectations of a 25 bps rate cut, he added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.90 per cent to USD 61 a barrel.

After Monday’s drubbing, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,089.18 points or 1.49 per cent to settle at 74,227.08 on Tuesday. The Nifty surged 374.25 points or 1.69 per cent to 22,535.85.