A bird flies past a screen displaying the Sensex results on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday (April 3, 2025) dragged down by IT stocks, weak trends from Asian markets after the U.S. has announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries.

The U.S. has announced 27% reciprocal tariffs on India, saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods, as the Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the country’s trade deficit and boost manufacturing.

The move is expected to impact India’s exports to the U.S. However, experts say that India is better-placed than its competitors, who also face increased levies.

The 30-share BSE Sensex decreased 378.60 points or 0.49% to 76,238.84 in the morning trade. In the session, it depreciated by 809.89 points or 1.05% to hit an intraday low of 75,807.55.

The broader NSE Nifty slipped 80.60 points or 0.35% to 23,251.75.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Maruti Suzuki, Zomato and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major laggards.

Sun Pharmaceuticals, NTPC, Titan, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers. The BSE midcap gauge depreciated 0.41%, and the smallcap index dipped 0.08%.

In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei plunged the most by more than 3%, followed by Hong Kong (2%), Seoul’s KOSPI (1 %) and Shanghai (0.39%).

According to HDFC Securities’ Head of Prime Research Devarsh Vakil, Global stock markets plunged after U.S. President Donald Trump announced harsher-than-expected tariffs.

On Wednesday (April 2, 2025), Mr. Trump laid out the U.S. “reciprocal tariff” rates that more than 180 countries and territories, including European Union members, will face under his sweeping new trade policy.

The U.S. markets ended higher in overnight deals on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 2.31% to $73.22 a barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,538.88 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) outnumbered the FIIs by purchasing equities worth ₹2,808.83 crore.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 592.93 points to settle at 76,617.44, and the NSE Nifty climbed 166.65 points to settle at 23,332.35.