Share Market Today: Sensex Tanks 700 Points, Nifty Falls Under 23,250

In the broader markets, the indices completely bled in the morning hours. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index plunged 1.88 per cent, followed by the Nifty Next 50 tanking 1.80 per cent in the session.

This decline was seen across the Asian markets after US President Donald Trump announced more tariffs on multiple countries.

Source : Wikipedia

The Indian equity benchmark indices began the trading week on a muted note echoing the sentiment of the Asian markets. As of 9:19 AM, the BSE Sensex plunged close to 650 points to trade near 76,860, while the NSE Nifty50 stood above 23,250, taking a hit of more than 200 points.

As the session progressed, the indices pared their losses slightly, but still remained in red. Around 9:39 AM, the Sensex hovered under the 76,950 mark, declining 559 points, while the Nifty remained at 23,277.25, tanking a little over 200 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Maruti, Titan, Nestle, ITC Hotels, and Bajaj Finserv emerged among the gainers in the early market hours. Meanwhile, the laggards so far included L&T, NTPC, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, and Tata Motors.

In the broader markets, the indices completely bled in the morning hours. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index plunged 1.88 per cent, followed by the Nifty Next 50 tanking 1.80 per cent in the session.

Sectorally, the Metal and Oil & Gas indices nosedived 3.72 per cent and 2.65 per cent respectively. The Consumer Durables index remained the only exception in green and inched up 0.40 per cent.

In the earlier special trading session on Budget day on Saturday, the Sensex settled at 77,505.96, inching up by 5.39 points, while the Nifty closed the session marginally lower at 23,482.15, slipping 26 points.

Why Are Markets Down?

This decline was seen across the Asian markets after US President Donald Trump announced more tariffs on multiple countries. The US levied a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and imposed a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, set to take effect from February 4. The possibility of retaliatory tatiffs leading to a trade war dampened the spirit in the market and shook investors' confidence.

The Indian rupee depreciated 54 paise to touch a fresh low of 87.16 against the US dollar in early trade.

Notably, the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet on Wednesday this week. The committee will decide on the fate of key interest rates in the economy and the fiscal policy going forward.