Market Opening Bell: Indices open lower amid weak global cues; NIFTY50 slips over 1%, SENSEX tumbles 637 pts

The equity benchmark indices of India opened lower on Friday, April 4, tracking the routs in the US and Asian indices as market investors remain jittery amid tariff imposition by the Trump administration.

At 9:56 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX fell 636.65 points, or 0.83%, at the 75,658.71 level, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was at the 22,992.45 level, down 257.65 points, or 1.11%.

The Indian government on Thursday said that they are examining the implications of the 27% reciprocal tariffs and discussing it with stakeholders, including domestic industry and exporters, to seek their feedback on the issue.

The broader market was also trading a gap down as both midcap and smallcap indices tanked over 1% during the early trade.

Among sectors, metal, information technology, and auto continue to face the heat of the tariff.

The market breadth was in favour of negative as 1,924 stocks slipped out of 2,436 traded in the early session.

ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Larsen and Toubro were the biggest laggards on the NIFTY50 index, declining as much as 4.98%.

Globally, the US markets witnessed one of the worst days since the COVID-19 pandemic amid market reactions post-tariff announcement. All three main indices settled lower on Thursday.

The S&P slid 4.84% to close at 5,396.52, its worst one-day fall since 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1,670 points, or 3.98%, to end at 40,545. The Nasdaq slipped 5.97% or 1,050 points to 16,550.

Following the US market, Asian shares also declined. Japan's Nikkei 225 index is down 2.37% or 824.25 points, while Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 1.64% or 64 points to 3,877. The Chinese stock markets remained closed on Friday for a holiday.

As many as 2,476 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,828 stocks declined, only 591 advanced and 57 shares remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of negative.

Meanwhile, only 22 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 18 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 119 stocks hit their lower circuits, while 15 hit their upper circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 1.36% higher at 13.79 levels.

The broader market was in correction mode as both the indices slipped into the red. Nifty Midcap 100 was trading 1.19% lower at 51,541.95 levels, and Nifty Smallcap 100 was at 16,073.25 levels, tanking 1.12%.

Shares of Mazagon Dock closed at ₹2,737.55 apiece on the NSE on Thursday. This shows that the floor price for the OFS is 7.76% lower from its previous close.

Bajaj Finance's total customer franchise as rose to 101.82 million as compared to 83.64 million as of March 31, 2024. In Q4FY25, the customer franchise increased by 4.70 million, the company said in a regulatory filing.

WTI crude oil prices fell below $70 per barrel, and Brent Crude oil prices hovered around $73 per barrel.

During early sessions, shares of ONGC were trading at ₹229.41 per share, declining 5.71% on the National Stock Exchange.