By Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -Indian benchmarks fell in a broad-based sell-off on Friday, led by pharma shares after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% levy on branded and patented drugs, while IT stocks fell after Accenture’s revenue outlook indicated sluggish demand.
The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex shed 0.47% each to 24,774.3 and 80,775.23 points, respectively, as of 10:21 a.m. IST. The indexes are on course for a sixth consecutive session of losses.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors traded lower on the day. The pharma index was the biggest loser, dropping 2.4% on uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the sector.
The broader mid-caps and small-caps dropped 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
Trump on Thursday unleashed a fresh round of punishing tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, including branded and patented drugs, and heavy-duty trucks, effective October 1.
The U.S. accounts for slightly more than a third of India’s pharmaceutical exports, which comprise mainly cheaper generic versions of popular drugs. Exports to the country rose 20% to about $10.5 billion in fiscal 2025.
While a majority of Indian pharma exports are generic drugs, there is still uncertainty whether complex generics and biosimilars will come under the tariff embargo in the future, said ICICI Securities.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries declined 2%, and was the biggest Nifty 50 loser. Natco Pharma fell 3.4%, losing the most on the pharma index.
IT stocks fell 1.2% after Accenture’s full-year revenue growth outlook of 2% to 5% missed estimates of 5.3%, and indicated that weak demand may continue to weigh on IT companies.
The sluggish outlook poses downside risks to consensus expectations of growth acceleration in fiscal 2027 for Indian IT firms, Jefferies said.
The IT index had lost 5.5% in the last four sessions due to uncertainty over the U.S.’ H1-B visa policy.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
