Stock market today: Sensex plunges over 300 points, Nifty near 23,321 during early trade
NEW DELHI: Markets opened at a slight low on Thursday after being on an upward trend for the week. Sensex opened with a plunge of 76.27 points at 76,968.02 while Nifty was also down at 23,401.85. the markets plunged further soon after opening with Sensex by over 300 points at 76,675.62 while Nifty plunged by over 100 points being at a low of 23,298.55 during early trade.
Among the Sensex constituents, major decliners included HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro and Titan. On the positive side, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India registered gains.
This marks a significant turning point for the Indian stock markets as it has been at a high throughout the week since Tuesday, Monday being a holiday. Today’s trading will also mark the end for the week as markets will be closed on April 18 on account of Good Friday.
On Wednesday, markets had closed in green with Sensex up by 309.40 points or 0.40 per cent at 77,044.29 while Nifty had also gained 108.65 points or 0.47 per cent, reaching 23,437.20.
Meanwhile, as the Indian markets were down, most Asian shares rose Thursday despite concerns over US President Trump’s trade war, with attention focused on US-Japan trade talks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7%, boosted by a 1.7% rise in Honda shares after it announced plans to shift production of US-bound Civic hybrids from Japan to Indiana.
Other Asian markets also edged up, while the Shanghai Composite dipped slightly. This came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark warning on Wednesday, saying Trump’s tariff-driven trade policy risks pushing inflation higher and slowing growth—setting up a potential clash between the Fed’s twin goals of stable prices and full employment- sending US markets crashing on Wednesday, led by tech losses after Nvidia warned of export-related revenue hits.The S&P 500 dropped 2.2%, the Dow fell 699 points, and the Nasdaq slid 3.1%.
Global recession fears are rising amid ongoing tariffs. The WTO projects a 0.2% drop in global trade this year, with potential for worse. Treasury yields dipped, and oil and dollar prices rose modestly.
