Markets trim early loss as pharma stocks hog limelight

The IT and auto sectors experienced selling pressure due to US slowdown concerns and disruptions in the supply chain. Pharmaceutical stocks benefited from being exempt from the tariffs, said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Investments

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed down on Thursday due to selling in IT shares amid a global sell-off as US President Donald Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries, including India.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 322.08 points or 0.42 per cent to close at 76,295.36. During the session, it plunged 809.89 points or 1.05 per cent to hit an intraday low of 75,807.55 but recovered some of the losses as pharma shares advanced. The broader NSE Nifty fell 82.25 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 23,250.10. The index declined by 186.55 points or 0.79 per cent to a low of 23,145.80 in early trade, but later pared some losses. Despite, market ended in the red territory, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose by Rs35,170.32 crore to Rs4,13,33,265.92 ($4.83 trillion).

“The imposition of very high reciprocal tariffs by the US on its major trading partners, including India, will likely have large negative consequences for global and US GDP growth, global and US inflation, and the profitability of certain sectors and companies in India. a sequential revenue decline for all large Indian IT service companies for the March’25 quarter is expected due to seasonal weakness, lower billing days, and marginal deterioration in demand,” said Sumit Pokharna, V-P (fundamental research), Kotak Securities.

In broader markets, the BSE smallcap gauge rose by 0.76 per cent and the midcap index went up 0.31 per cent.

“The Nifty index opened lower in response to the US tariff announcements, but saw some recovery due to resilience in select heavyweight stocks. This helped trim losses in early trades, leading to a range-bound session,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Market breadth was positive as 2,809 stocks advanced while 1,175 declined and 139 remained unchanged on the BSE.