Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 opened lower on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on India, citing its purchases of Russian crude oil and arms. All eyes are now on the RBI’s policy decision on Wednesday, as pressure on growth continues to mount.
At 9:20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 80,881.20, down 137.52 points, or 0.17 per cent. The 30-share index fell 209 points earlier in the day. The NSE Nifty50 was down 35.70 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 24,687.05, after hitting a low of 24,664.20.
Among Sensex stocks, Hindustan Unilever led the losers with a 0.79 per cent fall to Rs 2,521.35. HDFC Bank followed, declining 0.75 per cent. Other losers included Bharat Electronics (down 0.68 per cent), Infosys (down 0.65 per cent), Reliance Industries (down 0.60 per cent), and ICICI Bank (down 0.60 per cent).
One 97 Communications shares were in focus today as Antfin, an Alibaba Group entity, is reportedly looking to divest its 5.84 per cent equity stake in Paytm through block deals, sources cited by CNBC-TV18 suggest. The deal could be valued at approximately Rs 3,800 crore. As of June 2025, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV held a 5.84 per cent interest in Paytm. The stock saw a decline of 1.67 per cent to Rs 1060.25 in early trade.
Aditya Infotech is poised for a closely watched stock market debut today. The manufacturer of CP Plus cameras will make its stock market debut today after the company raised a total of Rs 1,300 crore via IPO.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the latest tweet from President Trump that ‘I will be substantially raising US tariff on India’ for buying Russian oil is a big threat. If he walks his talk, the India-US relations will further strain and the impact on India’s exports to the US can be worse than thought earlier.
“India’s GDP growth and corporate earnings in FY26 also will be impacted. The market, still trading at elevated valuations, has not discounted such an eventuality. It remains to be seen how things evolve. India’s response, with facts, that ‘targeting India is unjustified and unreasonable’ sends a message that India will not be making undue concessions and compromises,” Vijayakumar said.
“This means, the market is in uncharted territory in the near-term. If President Trump raises tariffs on India further the market will react negatively breaking the Nifty support of 24500. Investors may wait and watch for the developments to unfold. Moving some money to fixed income also can be thought of,” Vijayakumar added.
Domestic equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday thanks to buying in auto and metal stocks. The BSE Sensex rose 418.81 points, or 0.52 per cent, to close at 81,018.72, while the NSE Nifty50 climbed 157.40 points, or 0.64 per cent, to settle at 24,722.75.
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