Hopes that US President Donald Trump might roll back planned tariff hikes at the last minute were dashed on Wednesday, as he reaffirmed that all announced increases—including the politically charged 50 percent duty on Brazilian goods and a 50 percent tariff on copper—would take effect from August 1.
The firm stance unsettled global markets, with Asian indices and US futures opening lower on Thursday.
India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will kick off the corporate earnings season today with its first-quarter results, which could provide insight into the performance of the broader IT sector.
Meanwhile, a recent reduction in import duties on crude palm oil is expected to ease edible oil prices.
In the derivatives market, Gift Nifty closed at 25,574.50 on Wednesday night and dropped to 25,565 in early morning trade, indicating a weak start for Indian markets.
European indices ended Wednesday with gains despite ongoing tariff uncertainties. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose over 1.5 percent, driven by strong performances from defence stocks. European bank stocks also reached their highest levels in 17 years.
US pharma giant Merck announced the $10 billion acquisition of UK-based Verona Pharma, which specialises in respiratory drugs.
Despite Trump’s escalating trade rhetoric, US markets shrugged off the concern, with all three major indices closing higher. Tech giant Nvidia became the first company to cross the $4 trillion market capitalisation mark, overtaking Microsoft and Apple. Nasdaq closed at a record high, boosted by gains across the tech sector.
Nvidia had crossed the $1 trillion milestone on May 30, 2023, followed by $2 trillion in February 2024, and $3 trillion on May 5.
On Wednesday, Trump sent tariff notifications to seven countries, including Iraq, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Sri Lanka was informed of a 30 percent duty.
Brazil was hit with a steep 50 percent tariff, which Trump linked to the prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro—his far-right ally—over alleged sedition. Trump had personally urged current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to halt the trial. Lula, a leftist, rejected the request and warned of reciprocal action.
While Trump has notified 22 countries so far, his interim trade deal with India remains undecided. The draft reportedly avoids references to controversial sectors such as agriculture and dairy. The proposed EU-US tariff deal also remains pending on Trump’s desk.
The Dow Jones closed 217.54 points (0.49 percent) higher at 44,458.30. The S&P 500 rose 37.74 points (0.61 percent) to 6,263.26, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 192.87 points (0.95 percent) to a record 20,611.30.
However, US futures turned negative on Thursday: Dow was down 0.17 percent, S&P 500 by 0.19 percent, and Nasdaq by 0.21 percent.
Asian markets opened mixed. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.65 percent, with similar weakness in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Chinese indices.
Domestic equities fell on Wednesday amid trade deal anxieties and modest Q1 earnings expectations. Reliance, PSU banks, realty, IT, and metals led the decline.
Despite recent regulatory action involving Jane Street, stocks such as BSE Ltd, CDSL, and Angel One saw gains. However, Nuvama Wealth Management declined nearly 3 percent.
Manappuram Finance fell 2.54 percent following a drop in gold prices.
Nifty closed 46.40 points (0.18 percent) lower at 25,476.10, while the Sensex slipped 176.43 points (0.21 percent) to end at 83,536.08. Bank Nifty fell 42.45 points (0.07 percent) to 57,213.55.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 75.88 points (0.13 percent) to 59,339.60. However, the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 112.20 points (0.59 percent) to close at 19,007.40.
The broader market remained weak: on the BSE, 1,992 stocks rose while 2,013 fell. On the NSE, 1,476 advanced while 1,453 declined.
On the NSE, 61 stocks hit 52-week highs and 30 touched lows. Upper circuit limits were hit by 92 stocks, and 52 hit lower circuits.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made net purchases of ₹77 crore in the cash market, while domestic funds bought ₹920.83 crore worth of equities.
Nifty’s failure to hold 25,500 points reflected underlying weakness. Analysts expect single-digit earnings growth for Nifty companies in Q1, reinforcing concerns about high price-to-earnings (PE) ratios flagged by foreign investors.
All eyes are now on TCS’s Q1 results. Most analysts expect around 3 percent growth in profits. Investor focus is also shifting to mid-cap IT companies, where stronger growth is anticipated.
Nifty is expected to find support at 25,430 and 25,360, with resistance around 25,530 and 25,600.
US short-selling group Viceroy Research has released a damning report accusing the Vedanta Group of financial mismanagement. Shares of Vedanta Ltd and Hindustan Zinc fell over 3 percent.
The report alleges that Vedanta and its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc are being drained to service the debt of their London-based parent, Vedanta Resources. The company is said to have borrowed heavily against pledged shares and funnelled profits through inflated dividends.
Group chairman Anil Agarwal, who merged Sterlite with public-sector firms like Balco and Hindustan Zinc to form Vedanta, has faced criticism for exploiting state resources. The report claims Vedanta Resources, which has no operating business, relies on its subsidiaries’ assets to stay afloat.
Gold prices rebounded after slipping below $3,300 an ounce. The yellow metal closed at $3,320.73 on Wednesday and opened slightly lower at $3,318 today.
In Kerala, gold fell by ₹480 on Wednesday to ₹72,000 per sovereign. Prices may rise today. Silver fell to $36.34 per ounce.
Copper markets remain volatile following the US’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff. Divergent prices have emerged in London and New York. The New York copper price is now 15 percent higher than a week ago, while LME prices have declined by 4 percent. Analysts expect copper prices to dip to around $8,800 per tonne. On Wednesday, copper on the LME fell 2.92 percent to $9,634.75 per tonne.
In other commodities, rubber rose 0.37 percent to 162.60 cents/kg. Cocoa surged 3.05 percent to $8,228.01/tonne. Coffee and tea prices edged up 0.32 and 0.58 percent, respectively. Palm oil rose 0.12 percent.
India has halved its import duty on crude palm oil—from 20 to 10 percent. The difference in duty between crude and refined oil has been widened from 8.75 to 19.25 percent to encourage local refining and keep prices in check.
The US dollar index closed at 97.56 but fell to 97.35 in early trade today. In currency markets, the euro strengthened to $1.1738, and the pound rose to $1.3601. The Japanese yen stood at 145.90 per dollar. US 10-year Treasury yields dropped to 4.326 percent as bond prices rose.
The rupee closed marginally stronger on Wednesday at ₹85.67 against the dollar, after a volatile session. The Chinese yuan slipped to 7.18 per dollar.
Crude oil prices remained firm. Brent was trading at $70.18 a barrel in the morning, while WTI stood at $68.33 and Murban at $71.26. Natural gas prices were largely unchanged.
Cryptocurrencies continued to climb. Bitcoin neared $112,000 before retreating slightly, while Ethereum rose to $2,796.
