Indian benchmark indices surged on Friday, snapping a brief pause after a holiday, as investor sentiment improved following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension on reciprocal tariffs for all countries except China. While the baseline 10 per cent tariffs remain in place, the move sparked broad-based buying across sectors.

The Sensex closed 1,310.11 points higher, or 1.77 per cent, at 75,157.26, while the Nifty50 gained 429.40 points, or 1.92 per cent, to end the session at 22,828.55. Despite Friday’s rebound, both benchmark indices ended the week marginally lower, with the Sensex and Nifty50 down 0.3 per cent each.

Meanwhile, trade tensions between the US and China escalated further. Beijing announced it will impose additional tariffs on American imports starting April 12, pushing the total effective duty to 125 per cent. The move follows Washington’s decision to impose a cumulative 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, announced just a day earlier.

Globally, US markets closed sharply lower on Thursday, as investor concerns deepened over the potential economic fallout from President Donald Trump’s escalating trade disputes on multiple fronts.

In Asia, markets saw a mixed close—Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3 per cent, reflecting global uncertainty, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 1 per cent. European markets were trading in the red, mirroring the cautious global sentiment.

Expert Comment

Bajaj Broking Research noted, "Benchmark indices rallied sharply higher on Friday after US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a 90-day 'pause' on reciprocal tariffs for all except China. Nifty advanced 429 points or 1.92 per cent to close at 22,828.55. All the sectoral indices ended in the green with Metal index rose 4 per cent, while Auto, Oil & Gas, Power, PSU, Telecom, Pharma up 2 per cent each. The BSE midcap index was rose 1.8 per cent and small cap index added 3 per cent. Meanwhile, the market's fear barometer, India VIX, declined sharply by 8 percent, indicating easing investor anxiety. Chinese finance ministry on Friday announced it is hiking the tariffs on US goods to 125 percent starting from April 12. It also said that the country will ignore further tariff on its goods by US."