Indian shares erased early gains to end on a flat note Thursday due to prevailing uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for reciprocal tariffs and amid the weekly F&O expiry.
Trump could sign his reciprocal tariff plan that will match other countries’ higher import taxes sometime later today. The new U.S. tariff rates would take effect “almost immediately”.
It is feared that the new duties aimed at reshaping the U.S. trade policy may lead to a prolonged trade war and potential inflationary pressures.
Markets opened on an upbeat note earlier as signs of a slowing economy towards the end of 2024 and falling retail inflation reinforced the views that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will continue to loosen its monetary policy in coming months.
Sentiment was also aided by falling oil prices after Trump said the U.S. and Russia will immediately begin negotiations toward ending the Ukraine conflict.
The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex hit an intraday high of 76,764.53 before giving up all gains to end the session down 32.11 points, or 0.04 percent, at 76,138.97.
The Sensex ended lower for a seventh day running, marking its longest decline since November.
The broader NSE Nifty index ended down 13.85 points, or 0.06 percent, at 23,031.40, after having surged to a high of 23,235.50 earlier.
The BSE mid-cap index edged up marginally while the small-cap index slipped 0.4 percent.
The market breadth was negative on the BSE, with 2,092 shares declining while 1,851 shares advanced and 131 shares ended unchanged.
Adani Group stocks faced selling pressure, with Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports falling 4.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Hero MotoCorp all fell over 1 percent while Cipla, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel rallied 2-3 percent.
Sensex, Nifty Give Up Early Gains
2025-02-13 10:29:13
