By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) – India’s benchmark indexes snapped their seven-session rally on Wednesday as investors booked profits ahead of potential U.S. tariff announcements next week.
The NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.77% to close at 23,486.85 and the BSE Sensex lost 0.93% to 77,288.5, with both indexes turning negative for the year.
The benchmark indexes had erased their year-to-date losses earlier this week after gaining 5.7% in a seven-session rally, helped by foreign inflows and optimism over domestic macroeconomic factors.
The profit booking is “due to heightened uncertainty among investors regarding the U.S. tariffs,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The U.S. administration has indicated that not all tariffs will be imposed on April 2 but there was no clarity on the countries and sectors that may be spared.
India, expected to be among the worst hit as per broad reciprocal differentials, is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports in the first phase of a trade deal being negotiated between the two nations, Reuters has reported.
Financial stocks, which led the recent rally, dropped 1% on the day and were the biggest drag.
HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries — the two heaviest weighted stocks in the Nifty 50 — lost 0.8% and 1%.
The mid-caps and small-caps fell 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively, dropping for the second straight day after gaining about 9% and 10%, respectively in a six-day rally.
Among individual stocks, Eternal, formerly known as Zomato, and Swiggy fell 3.1% and 4%, respectively, after BofA downgraded the stocks, flagging concerns of bigger losses in their quick commerce businesses.
(This story has been refiled to correct to ‘brakes’ from ‘breaks’ in the headline)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
