Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS): Indian stock markets on Monday ended the first trading session of the week on a negative note, as both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended lower following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of upcoming new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The move, which includes additional reciprocal tariffs, raised concerns about global trade tensions, leading to a sell-off in key indices.
The 30-share Sensex declined by 548.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 77,311.80. During the day, it moved between a high of 77,849.58 and a low of 77,106.89.
Similarly, the Nifty dropped by 178.35 points, or 0.76 per cent, to settle at 23,381.60. The index touched a high of 23,568.60 and a low of 23,316.30 before closing in the red.
Selling pressure across various sectors weighed on the benchmark indices, dragging them down throughout the session. The market favoured the bears, as 39 out of the 50 Nifty stocks ended lower.
Trent, Tata Steel and Titan were among the biggest losers, with their losses reaching up to 4.48 per cent. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Britannia, Tata Consumer Products, and HCL Tech managed to stay in the green with gains up to 1.74 per cent.
Broader markets also followed the trend, with the Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices falling by 2.12 per cent and 2.11 per cent, respectively.
Volatility in the markets remained high, as the India VIX, which measures market fear, surged by 5.55 points to 14.45. All sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red.
Analysts suggest that the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of new US tariffs may keep markets volatile in the coming sessions.
"The decline continues in the headline index as it has been falling after forming a lower top on the daily chart,” said Rupak De from LKP Securities.
Weak global cues weighed on investor sentiment after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, alongside additional reciprocal tariffs,” added Vikram Kasat from PL Capital-Prabhudas Lilladher.
Meanwhile, gold witnessed strong gains, surging above Rs 85,800 in MCX and hitting $2,900 in spot markets as Trump’s new round of tariffs on metal products intensified trade war concerns.
Given the growing risk-off sentiment, gold is expected to maintain a positive trend, with a projected range of Rs 84,000-Rs 86,500 in the coming days, said analysts.