By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes declined on Monday, as investors were spooked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports as well as reciprocal tariffs on several countries.
The NSE Nifty 50 closed 0.76% lower at 23,381.6, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.7% to 77,311.8. The key indexes have fallen for four straight sessions, down 1.5% during that period.
Global shares dithered and the dollar edged higher on Trump’s warning of more tariffs on steel and aluminium, an inflationary move that could limit the scope of U.S. rate cuts. [MKTS/GLOB]
The Indian rupee fell to a lifetime low.
Higher rates in the U.S. make foreign investments in emerging markets such as India less attractive.
All 13 major sectors logged losses on the day. The broader, more domestically-focussed midcaps and smallcaps shed 2.1% each.
The two heaviest stocks in the benchmark indexes, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries lost 1% each.
Markets are under pressure due to U.S. tariff uncertainty after Trump’s latest threats, said Vikas Gupta, chief executive and chief investment strategist at investment platform OmniScience Capital.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing additional tariff cuts ahead of his U.S. visit on Wednesday to boost U.S. exports to India and avoid a potential trade war.
The U.S. tariffs on metals could lead to higher supply in other markets, leading to lower base metal prices, said Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities.
Metal stocks fell 2.6% on the day. Tata Steel lost 3.1% to be among the top Nifty 50 laggards.
Pepsi India bottler Varun Beverages fell after reporting December-quarter profit below analysts’ estimates, hurt by higher raw material costs.
State-run explorer Oil India fell 4.6% while Shipping Corporation of India declined 6.1% after disappointing quarterly earnings.
($1 = 87.9010 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Varun H K, Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
