Mumbai: The BSE and NSE stock markets tumbled on Monday over fears that high US tariffs and the retaliation by other countries may kickstart a trade war.
BSE Sensex closed at 73,137.9, down 2226.79 points or 2.95 per cent.
NSE Nifty50 closed at 22,161.6, down 742.85 points or 3.24 per cent.
Sectors like IT and metals have underperformed relative to the broader market due to the risk of high inflation with slower growth that may result in a potential recession in the US.
Impact since March 2025
Bears on Dalal Street have pushed the market capitalisation (market-cap) of Indian companies to tumble over ₹33 trillion from their recent peak levels in March 2025.
The benchmark indices — Nifty50 and 30-stock Sensex — posted a recovery of over 8 per cent since their lows hit in September 2024. From March 24, all this recovery was dented as US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats came into focus. Since the recent peak on March 24, the market cap of listed companies in India has plunged by ₹30.05 trillion, according to data from the BSE.
In the Nifty 500 universe, Central Bank of India, KPIT Technologies, Anant Raj, National Aluminium (NALCO) and UCO Bank were among the top losers in terms of market-cap. Among big names, metal companies like Vedanta, Hindustan Copper and Hindalco Industries lost over 20 per cent in market-cap. Tata Motors and Tata Steel also lost nearly 20 per cent of their market-cap from March 24.
Only 40 companies in the Nifty 500 index saw their market increase in this period, and 13 among them were less than a 1 per cent rise. Tata Consumer Products, Aster DM Healthcare, BSE, and Vardhman Textiles saw their market-cap gain the most from March 24. Tata Consumer’s market cap rose by 7 per cent while the other three company’s market cap advanced slightly by over 10 per cent.
On Monday, the key gauges registered their biggest fall since June 4 last year as concerns over growth and fallout from US tariffs deepened the prevailing risk-off sentiment. After Trump hit China with a 54 per cent tariff to cripple exports to the US, Beijing retaliated with 34 per cent tariffs on all US imports.
Further, China restricted exports of seven types of rare earths, launched an anti-dumping probe into medical CT X-ray tubes from the US and India and imposed export controls on 16 US firms, among other measures.
In addition to China, Canada announced 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on some US-made vehicles while France’s Emmanuel Macron urged companies to pause US investments. All these add to global growth concerns, as pointed out by top brokerages.
Analysts at BofA stay cautious on Indian equities as the tariffs act as an additional risk for markets. While the direct Impact of tariffs on India is limited, it could have a cascading impact, including potentially delayed capex decisions and impact credit growth, among others. “Given India’s rich valuations along with other concerns, we continue to stay cautious on Indian equities.”
With inputs from BS
