Indian stock market ends lower as US reciprocal tariffs come into effect

Mumbai: The Indian stock market ended lower on Wednesday due to weak global cues and concerns over US trade tariffs, even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by 25 basis points.

The RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) reduced the repo rate to 6 per cent from 6.25 per cent — aiming to support economic growth amid global uncertainties. Along with the rate cut, the central bank also changed its policy stance from ‘accommodative’ to ‘neutral.’

However, amid tariff fears, Sensex slipped 379.93 points, or 0.51 per cent, to close at 73,847.15. Similarly, the Nifty ended 136.70 points lower at 22,399.15, down 0.61 per cent.

The top gainers within the Sensex pack included Nestle India which closed with over 3 per cent gain, Hindustan Unilever which rose 2.52 per cent and Titan finished the intra-day session with a 1.66 per cent gain.

The other gainers were Adani Ports, Power Grid, Asian Paints and ITC. In contrast, top losers included State Bank of India (SBI), Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, and Larsen and Toubro, with some stocks falling as much as 3.4 per cent.

Broader markets also saw selling pressure. The BSE Midcap index declined 0.73 per cent, while the Smallcap index fell 1.08 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, major losses were seen in Nifty IT, Pharma, PSU Bank, Realty, and Healthcare. These sectors declined between 1.11 per cent and 2.25 per cent.

“Global financial markets are witnessing renewed selling pressure following the enactment of reciprocal tariffs,” said Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments Limited.

He added that in India, a cut in the repo rate, along with the adaptation of an accommodative policy stance, is taken as a constructive step.

“However, it has done little to uplift overall market sentiment, as the world is embracing recessionary risk,” Nair mentioned.

Sentiment took a hit following the announcement of fresh US tariffs on China, leading to a gap-down opening and a largely range-bound session thereafter, said Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking Limited.

The markets will remain closed on April 10 in observance of Mahavir Jayanti.

IANS