The Nifty and Sensex fell by 1.5 per cent on Tuesday after what was a euphoric single-day gain in four years on Monday following reports of truce between India and Pakistan. The BSE Sensex dropped 1,315 points, or 1.59%, to 81,114, while the Nifty50 declined 358 points, or 1.44%, to 24,565 around 2:20 pm.
The total market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 431.05 lakh crore, with Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, HCLTech, Power Grid and TCS among the top losers.
Uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire and fears of a possible retaliation by Pakistan, as well as the recent US-Chine 90-day trade negotiations are some reasons for the Indian benchmark indices slump, say analysts. With the US announcing reduction of tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, and China lowering its duties on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent, the deal is a huge deterrent for India as China is a major competitor.
However, strategists also believe that institutional activity was likely to remain subdued in the coming days. They attribute Nifty’s slip to profit booking, making the pullback expected.
Markets around the world logged modest gains as uncertainties over the longer term resurfaced. The future for the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 per cent.
The US-China deal outcome surpassed most expectations, reassuring investors, said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
“Make no mistake, this was highly stage-managed diplomacy. But the optics are good and the implications real. It signals that even this administration recognises the economic drag of unrelenting tariffs,” he said in a commentary.
Nissan Motor Co added 3 per cent ahead of an announcement that it plans to lay off 20,000 of its workers as part of its restructuring efforts. The automaker said Tuesday that it racked up a loss of 670.9 billion Yen (USD 4.5 billion) in the last fiscal year.
The Kospi in South Korea was nearly unchanged at 2,608.42. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which gained 3 per cent a day earlier after Chinese and US officials announced the agreement to pause tariffs and reduce them, fell 1.9 per cent to 23,108.27 on heavy selling of technology shares.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2 per cent higher to 3,374.87 and Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1 per cent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4 per cent to 8,2769.00.
Oil prices slipped Tuesday after a rally on Monday. US benchmark crude oil gave up 15 cents to USD 61.80 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 18 cents to USD 64.78 per barrel.
The US dollar had strengthened Monday against everything from the Euro to the Japanese Yen to the Swiss Franc. By early Tuesday, the dollar was trading at 147.93 Japanese Yen, down from 148.47 Yen. But it gained against the Euro, climbing to USD 1.1104 from USD 1.1088.
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