Sensex, Nifty End Modestly Lower; Pharma Stocks Lead Losses On Tariff Worries

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly lower on Tuesday, as Middle East tensions intensified and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff order on movies along with plans to cut reliance on foreign-made medicines reignited concerns about the potential fallout of a global trade war.

Investors also reacted to a Bloomberg report that said India has proposed zero tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis up to a certain quantity of imports in its trade negotiations with the U.S.

Meanwhile, with tensions between India and Pakistan reaching a new high, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued directives to several states, urging them to conduct large-scale civil defence mock drills on May 7.

These drills are aimed at assessing the country's preparedness in case of a hostile attack and at the same time raising awareness among the public.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex moved in a lackluster manner before closing down 155.77 points, or 0.19 percent, at 80,641.07.

The broader NSE Nifty index slid 81.55 points, or 0.33 percent, to 24,379.60 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes slumped 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 3,158 shares declining while 786 shares advanced and 128 shares closed unchanged.

Pharma stocks faced heavy selling pressure, with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Lupin, Cipla and Aurobindo Pharma losing 1-3 percent.

Bank of Baroda plummeted 10.3 percent after margin pressures weighed on its March-quarter earnings.

Peers Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Central Bank of India plunged 5-6 percent.

Among the prominent gainers, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel rose 1-2 percent.