MUMBAI (Reuters) -Indian shares opened lower on Thursday after the U.S. imposed an extra 25% tariff on Indian exports, stoking concerns over the economic impact of worsening bilateral ties.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.26% to 24,511 points and the BSE Sensex lost 0.24% to 80,344.99 as of 9:23 a.m. IST.
Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.3% each.
“While markets have already started pricing in the risk of a sharp tariff hike, a near-term knee-jerk reaction is inevitable—unless there’s swift clarity or a breakthrough in negotiations,” said Mayuresh Joshi, head of equity research of India at William O’Neil and Company.
Before the additional tariffs were announced on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) retained its GDP growth forecast for the year at 6.5%, downplaying tariff-related uncertainties.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M; additional reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Mumbai; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
