Chemical sector stocks decline on tariff woes; Navin Fluorine, SRF, Deepak Nitrite slip up to 7%

Currently, the chemical companies import rate is around 3.5%. The new tariff is making investors jittery for the sector.

While announcing a tariff on India, the US President on Wednesday said, “India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. They charge us 52%. You have to understand, we charged them almost nothing for years and years and decades, and it was only seven years ago, when I came in, that we started with China.”

The baseline duty of 10% will be effective from April 5 and the 27% from April 9. Certain sectors that are exempted from these duties include pharma, semiconductors and energy products.

Other firm shares like SRF (-2.75%), PI Industries (-1.81%), Deepak Nitrite (-1.80%) and Tata Chemicals (-0.60%) were also trading lower.

Speciality chemical companies Atul Limited (-2.82%) and Vinati Organics (-0.73%) were also trading down.

Apart from the chemical sector, shares of the auto and IT sectors were also impacted. However, pharma and textile firms witnessed investors optimism.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce is carefully examining the implications of the US reciprocal tariffs on India and is engaged with all stakeholders, including domestic industry and exporters, to seek their feedback on the issue, an official statement said on Thursday.

The commerce ministry said that it is also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy.