Sensex, Nifty Tumble As Investor Seek Tariff Clarity

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell sharply on Tuesday as investors watched the latest developments in the ongoing India-U.S. trade discussions.

The Bloomberg reported that India is working on a U.S. trade deal structured in three tranches and expects to reach an interim agreement before July, when President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs are set to kick in.

The deal might include easier access for industrial goods and some farm products, it was said.

Last week, Trump stated that India had proposed a trade agreement offering zero tariffs on American products, but Eternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later refuted these claims.

Heightened concerns over U.S. debt, signs of faltering U.S.-Iran nuclear talks and no significant breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks also weighed on markets.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex fell 872.98 points, or 1.06 percent, to 81,186.44 while the broader NSE Nifty index closed down 261.55 points, or 1.05 percent, at 24,683.90.

The broader markets also came under selling pressure, with the mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE ending down 1.7 percent and 1 percent respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,522 shares declining while 1,448 shares advanced and 134 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, Bajaj FinServ, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Power Grid Corp, UltraTech, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India and Eternal lost 2-4 percent.

Metal stocks surged, with Tata Steel and Hindalco rising around 1 percent each, after China, a major consumer of metals, reduced its benchmark lending rates for the first time since October to cushion the economic impact of its trade conflict with the U.S.

Pfizer soared almost 11 percent after profit soared 85 percent year-on-year in Q4 of FY25.