Due to increased uncertainty around retaliatory tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, blue-chip equities caused equity benchmark indexes to plummet on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex further plummeted 1,233.95 points to 76,180.97 in late morning trading following a dismal start. At 23,197.85, the NSE Nifty fell 321.5 points.
Some of the largest laggards from the Sensex pack were Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Sun Pharma. IndusInd Bank was one among the gainers, rising by almost 5%. Zomato was in the favorable territory as well. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul were all trading in the positive zone in the Asian markets.
The majority of U.S. markets closed Monday, March 31, higher. Declaring April 2 to be “Liberation Day” for the United States, President Donald Trump intends to implement a series of reciprocal tariffs on that day. “Globally markets are focused on the details of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to be announced on April 2. The market trends after the announcements will depend on the details of the tariffs and how they will impact different countries and sectors,” V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said. According to him, India’s 6.3% return in March beat that of the majority of markets.
“FIIs turning buyers and the consequent short covering contributed to the rally. Can the rally continue or will there be another downturn? This will depend mainly on what Trump announces in tariffs,” Vijayakumar added. Based on exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold off stocks valued at ₹4,352.82 crore on Friday, March 28.
In observance of Eid-ul-Fitr, stock markets were closed on Monday, March 31. Brent crude, a global oil benchmark, increased by 0.20% to $74.88 a barrel. The Sensex fell 191.51 points, or 0.25%, on Friday, March 28, ending the day at 77,414.92. At 23,519.35, the Nifty fell 72.60 points, or 0.31%.
