Sensex, Nifty slump on global market rout after President Trump's new tariff threats

Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanked in early trade on Friday mirroring deep cuts in global markets after the latest announcement of additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese products rattled investors.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 790.87 points to 73,821.56 in early trade. The NSE Nifty slumped 231.15 points to 22,313.90.

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Maruti were the biggest laggards.

Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the only gainers from the pack.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with deep cuts.

US markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.

"Stock markets dislike uncertainty, and uncertainty has been on the rise ever since Trump was elected the US president. The spate of tariff announcements by Trump has been impacting markets and the latest announcement of additional 10% tariff on China is a confirmation of the market view that Trump will use the initial months of his presidency to threaten countries with tariffs and then negotiate for a settlement favourable to the US.

"How China responds to the latest round of tariffs remains to be seen," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 556.56 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.47 per cent to USD 73.69 a barrel.

"Asian equities fell Friday after heavy selling on Wall Street as traders grappled with underwhelming Nvidia Corp results, further details on US tariffs and mixed economic data," Ameya Ranadive, Chartered Market Technician, CFTe, Sr Technical Analyst, StoxBox, said.

The BSE Sensex eked out marginal gains of 10.31 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 74,612.43 on Thursday. The Nifty slipped 2.50 points or 0.01 per cent to 22,545.05, registering its seventh day of decline.

"Asian markets also experienced declines, with losses of up to 2.5 per cent, after President Trump confirmed that 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to take effect on March 4, and that an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports will be imposed," Vikas Jain, Head of Research, Reliance Securities, said. PTI SUM DR

Source: PTI