By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes rose marginally on Tuesday, helped by heavyweight financials and auto stocks, although losses in metals and global uncertainty around U.S. tariffs kept investors on the edge.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.13% to 22,568 by 10:49 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex added 0.24% to 74,632.3.
Financials gained 0.3% after shedding 2% over the last three sessions.
“Emergence of some temporary buying interest in financials has pushed benchmark indexes to the green, but we are not very constructive of markets and sentiment turning positive anytime soon,” said Aishvarya Dadheech, chief investment officer of Fident Asset Management.
Risk sentiment in domestic equities has been weak in recent months due to concerns around U.S. tariff plans and persistent foreign outflows, along with slowing corporate earnings.
Gains on Tuesday were kept in check by a 1.1% drop in metals, pressured by a stronger dollar and concerns over demand due to U.S. tariffs. [MET/L]
A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Other Asian markets dropped on the day, tracking losses on Wall Street, after U.S. President Donald Trump restricted Chinese investments in strategic areas and said Canada and Mexico tariffs start next week. [MKTS/GLOB]
Indian markets are not expected to recover in a jiffy, Fident Asset’s Dadheech said, as uncertainty over trade policies are likely to remain a major headwind at least until early April.
Auto stocks rose 0.7%, helping prop up the benchmarks, as brokerages called jitters over Tesla’s entry into India a kneejerk reaction and indicated there would be no major impact on Indian automakers.
Automakers had fallen 2.6% on Friday after the Tesla news.
Car maker Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 2.2%, taking its gains to about 4% over the last two sessions, after Jefferies termed the stock a “buying opportunity at attractive valuations”, citing limited impact from Tesla’s entry.
($1 = 86.7230 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sonia Cheema)
