Stock markets trade lower in early trade as selling in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank dents sentiment

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell sharply in early trade amid heavy selling in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and others, as investor sentiment weakened following fresh US tariff warnings against India, persistent volatility, and continued foreign fund outflows despite stable domestic fundamentals

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday, dragged by heavy selling in blue-chips Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and worries over fresh warning from the US to further raise tariffs against India.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 431.95 points to 85,007.67 during early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 105.6 points to 26,144.70.

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From the 30-Sensex firms, Trent tumbled over 7 per cent even as the Tata group retail firm reported a 17 per cent growth in standalone revenue to Rs 5,220 crore in the December quarter.

Reliance Industries, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Eternal, HDFC Bank, and Adani Ports were also among the laggards.

However, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 36.25 crore on Monday after a day’s breather, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors, however, bought stocks worth Rs 1,764.07 crore.

“While broader sentiment remains guarded amid recent bouts of volatility driven by geopolitical developments and tariff-related concerns, underlying support continues to come from stable domestic macro fundamentals and steady institutional participation,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

US President Donald Trump has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew “I was not happy” with India’s purchases of Russian oil and that Washington could raise tariffs on New Delhi “very quickly”.

Trump made the remarks while talking to reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One en route to Washington DC from Florida.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading higher.

US markets ended higher on Monday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.24 per cent to US$ 61.61 per barrel.

On Monday, the Sensex dropped 322.39 points, or 0.38 per cent, to settle at 85,439.62. After hitting a record intra-day high of 26,373.20, the Nifty failed to carry forward the momentum and declined 78.25 points, or 0.30 per cent, to end at 26,250.30.