Equities Slide As Trump’s Reciprocal Tariff Looms

An end of the day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets today, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

By Richard Fargose

April 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM IST

Highlights
• Vodafone Idea soars nearly 20% as the government converts ₹369.50 billion dues into equity.
• M&M reports record tractor sales in FY25, expects momentum to continue into Q1 FY26.
• TVS Motor posts a 17% rise in total sales for March 2025.
• Maruti Suzuki sells fewer than 200,000 cars, but exports surge 27%.
• India’s generic pharma sector may avoid significant tariff impact, says Jefferies.

Equity markets tumbled on the first trading session of the new financial year, as investors remained cautious ahead of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect on April 2.

The Nifty 50 closed below 23,200, dragged down by heavyweights HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, and TCS.

Indices	Last	Change	% Change
SENSEX	76,024.51	-1390.41	-1.80%
NIFTY 50	23,165.70	-353.65	-1.50%
NIFTY MIDCAP 100	51,229.60	-442.65	-0.90%
NIFTY SMALLCAP 100	15,982.95	-112.75	-0.70%
INDIA VIX	13.78	1.07	8.30%

SECTORAL PERFORMANCE
Most sectoral indices ended in the red. IT, realty, and consumer durables declined 2-3%. Nifty Media and Nifty Oil & Gas were the only gainers.

The auto sector reacted to March sales data-- Ashok Leyland gained nearly 3% after a 15% sales increase. While, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra declined.

Maharashtra-based real estate stocks dropped following an increase in Ready Reckoner Rates.

Top Gainers	% Change	Top Losers	% Change
NIFTY MEDIA	2.20%	NIFTY REALTY	-3.1%
		NIFTY IT	-2.5%
		NIFTY FIN SERVICE	-2.2%
		NIFTY SERV SECTOR	-1.9%
		NIFTY PHARMA	-1.7%

OUTLOOK
Investors are closely watching the US reciprocal tariff announcement expected Wednesday alongside ongoing Indo-US trade negotiations.

Rising oil prices are also weighing on market sentiment. The rupee is projected to trade within the 85.25–86.00 range on Wednesday

Key Events & Data Due Wednesday

Economic Data:

India March S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Data
US March ADP Non-farm Employment Data
US February Factory Orders Data
US Weekly Crude Oil Inventories Data

Corporate Actions:

Baroda Extrusion to consider preferential isue of shares
Colab Platforms to consider stock split
Super Crop Safe to discuss right issue of equity shares

Policy:

Trump to announce reciprocal tariffs
ECB's Schnabel Speaks
ECB's Lane Speaks