SENSEX drops over 550 points, NIFTY50 below 24,050; pharma stocks fall on threat of tariffs on generic drugs

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap down opening on Wednesday, July 22, as sentiment took a knock after US President Donald Trump reignited fears of higher tariffs by imposing 50% tariff on Canadian goods and spike in crude oil amid ongoing tensions in West Asia added to the weak sentiment.

The SENSEX fell as much as 580 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,022 dragged down by weakness in heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, IndiGo, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma.

As of 9:27 am, the SENSEX was down 484 points at 76,986 and NIFTY50 index dropped 155 points to 24,032.

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher following an overnight rally in US markets after chip makers came under renewed buying interest.

Japan's Nikkei surged 1.66%, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.36% and South Korea's Kospi advanced 5.22%.

Brent crude futures rose as much as 1.84% to hit an intraday high of $92.68 per barrel after the US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early Wednesday.

Back home, NIFTY Pharma index was top sectoral loser, the index fell 1.7% after President Trump on TruthSocial said that effective August 1st, 2026, all generic drugs being brought into the United States will continue to have a tariff of 0% for a two year period of time, after which the tariff will be raised to 100% for a one year period of time, and 200% thereafter.

The move comes after Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods citing disputed over autos, alcohol and cheese.

NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, IT, FMCG, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices also fell between 0.45% and 1.5%.

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 0.66% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index plunged 1.06%.

Among the individual shares, Bandhan Bank dropped as much as 14% to hit an intraday low of ₹178 after the bank's management cut FY27 RoA guidance to 1.2%-1.4% from 1.6%-1.8% citing cost-of funds pressure and rising tech opex tied to external environment.

IndiGo was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3.14% to ₹5,138 tracking a surge in crude prices. Cipla, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Max Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma, Shriram Finance, Eicher Motors and ICICI Bank also fell between 1.1% and 1.88%.

On the flip side, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, ONGC, Titan, Eternal and JSW Steel were notable gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,062 shares were declining while 763 were advancing on the NSE.