Indices open lower on weak global cues, tariffs; SENSEX down 270 points, NIFTY50 below 24,700; pharma stocks slip

The Indian stock market opened lower for the second day on Thursday, August 1, amid weak global cues as US tariff imposition kept market investors worried.

India is to face tariffs of 25% on its exports to the US as President Donald Trump issued an executive order listing the various duties that Washington will impose on exports from countries around the world. Meanwhile, while August 1 was the tariff deadline, the new levies will come into effect from August 7.

The broader market, however, remained mixed in the early session, with the Nifty Midcap 100 inching up marginally by 0.03% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.06%.

According to exchange data, on Thursday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹5,588.91 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹6,372.71 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, the stocks in Asia were seen subdued for the sixth consecutive session as US President Donald Trump modified tariff rates. In the Executive Order titled ‘Further Modifying The Reciprocal Tariff Rates,’ Trump announced tariff rates for nearly 70 nations.

South Korea's KOSPI plunged 3.27%, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.34%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 0.45%, and the Shanghai Composite was trading 0.19% lower.

On Wall Street, stocks settled lower on Thursday following the latest round of corporate earnings and economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 330.30 points, or 0.74%, to close at 44,130.98; the S&P 500 fell 23.51 points, or 0.37%, to 6,339.39; and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 7.23 points, or 0.03%, to end at 21,122.45.

As many as 2,407 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which only 1,319 were trading in the green, 1,015 were trading in the red, and 73 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth was in favour of advances.

Meanwhile, 35 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 9 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Ten stocks hit their lower circuits, and forty-five stocks hit their upper circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 1.6% higher at 11.73 levels.

Among sectors, Nifty Pharma (-1.65%) was the biggest loser, led by declines in Sun Pharma (-5.49%), Aurobindo Pharma (-2.12%), and Divis Laboratories (-1.85%).

Nifty IT (-0.47%) and Nifty Metal (-0.45%) were the other top laggards. On the other hand, Nifty FMCG (1.53%), Nifty Media (0.53%), and Nifty Realty (0.12%) were the only gainers.

Sun Pharma led the pack of losers, declining 5.49%, followed by Cipla (-1.86%), Mahindra & Mahindra (-1.83%), Dr. Reddy’s (-1.77%), and Tata Steel (-1.31%).

On the contrary, Eicher Motors (4.2%), Hindustan Unilever (3.55%), Maruti Suzuki (1.92%), Nestle India (1.26%), and Coal India (1.2%) were the top gainers on the 50-share index.