At 9:20 am, the BSE Sensex was down 146 points, or 0.17%, at 83,575, while the Nifty50 slipped 35 points, or 0.13%, to 25,488.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports, a 50% duty on copper, and new levies on semiconductors — escalating trade tensions and triggering volatility across global markets.
The U.S. accounts for nearly a third of India’s pharma exports, which rose 16% to about $9 billion in the last fiscal year, according to government-backed trade body Pharmexcil.
From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, L&T, and Infosys were among the top losers, falling up to 1%. In contrast, Asian Paints, HUL, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, and NTPC opened with gains.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal slipped 0.44% after Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, extending the trade measures already imposed on steel and aluminium. Meanwhile, Nifty IT, Realty, and Oil & Gas indices also declined, losing up to 1%.Meanwhile, pharma stocks opened up to 2% higher, with the Nifty Pharma index rising 0.3%, despite U.S. President threatening a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical products.
Experts View
“A significant takeaway from the recent global market trends is that the markets are largely ignoring the noise from the tariff front and are waiting for clarity to emerge. President Trump’s latest declarations of 50% tariffs on copper imports, 10% tariffs for just being in BRICS, no further extension of the August 1st deadline and a potential 200 % tariff on pharmaceutical imports with a grace period of one year …are all not taken seriously by the markets since Trump has a track record of chickening out and changing his announcements. Therefore, Nifty is likely to continue in the range in which it has been trading,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, at Geojit Investments.
Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking,said, “After a flat to negative opening, Nifty can find support at 25,500 followed by 25,400 and 25,300. On the higher side, 25,600 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,700 and 25,800.”
Global Markets
Stock markets around the Asia-Pacific were mixed, as investors digested Trump’s latest, shifting trade salvos. Japan and South Korea are among major U.S. trading partners in the region facing an August 1 deadline to reach a trade deal or be subjected to new tariff rates, although Trump has sent mixed signals on how flexible that date is.
Japan’s Nikkei edged down 0.2%, shedding early small gains. Australia’s stock index declined 0.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9%.
At the same time, mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.2%, and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.5%.
U.S. S&P 500 futures eased 0.1%, following a 0.1% loss for the cash index on Tuesday that extended the 0.8% drop that started the week.
FII/DII Tracker
The Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 26 crore on July 8, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended their buying on the second day as they bought equities worth Rs 1366 crore on the same day.
Crude Oil
Oil prices edged down on Wednesday after rising to two-week highs in the previous session, as investors awaited new developments on U.S. tariffs amid expectations of rising crude inventories in the United States.
Brent crude futures slipped 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $70.08 a barrel by 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $68.25 a barrel.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee fell 19 paise to 85.92 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.18% to 97.69 level.
(With inputs from agencies)