A man walks past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. File photo
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Equity benchmark indices slumped on Tuesday (April 1, 2025) dragged by blue-chip stocks amid heightened uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

After a weak beginning, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex further tanked 1,233.95 points to 76,180.97 in late morning trade. The NSE Nifty dropped 321.5 points to 23,197.85.

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards.

Among the gainers, IndusInd Bank jumped nearly 5%.

Zomato also traded in the positive territory.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the positive territory.

U.S. markets ended mostly higher on Monday (March 31).

President Donald Trump plans to roll out a set of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which he says will be “Liberation Day” for the U.S..

“Globally markets are focused on the details of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to be announced on April 2. The market trends after the announcements will depend on the details of the tariffs and how they will impact different countries and sectors,” V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

India outperformed most markets in March with 6.3% return, he said.

“FIIs turning buyers and the consequent short covering contributed to the rally. Can the rally continue or will there be another downturn? This will depend mainly on what Trump announces in tariffs,” Vijayakumar added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,352.82 crore on Friday (March 28), according to exchange data.

Stock markets were closed on Monday (March 31) for Eid-Ul-Fitr.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.20% to $74.88 a barrel.

On Friday (March 28), the Sensex declined 191.51 points or 0.25% to settle at 77,414.92. The Nifty dropped 72.60 points or 0.31% to 23,519.35.