Stock market today: Global markets crash on trade war concerns, GIFT Nifty futures drop 160 Points

The global markets plummeted across the globe as the trade war resumed officially on Monday, March 3. President Trump officially announced imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. In addition, the 10% additional tariff on China will also come into effect from tomorrow. Following the development, the US market corrected up to 2.5% and Asian markets opened more than 2% lower on Tuesday. Crude oil prices fell to 6-month lows, and US 10Y also fell below 4.7% on concerns over global economic stability.

The US economic indicators picture a drastic slowdown; the Atlanta Fed revised its GDP growth forecast further lower to -2.8%, just a week after lowering it to 1.5%. The gold prices jumped amid global uncertainty.

The GIFT NIFTY futures traded 160 points lower at 22,096 at 7:30 am, indicating a gap-down opening for Indian markets on Tuesday.

US markets

The US markets closed in deep red across the board, with tech stocks losing the most. The NASDAQ index fell 2.6%, and the majority of tech stocks, like Nvidia, Broadcom, and Amazon, fell up to 8% on Monday. The macroeconomic indicators show a severe drawdown in the US economy. On the data front, the ISM report revealed a sharper-than-expected slowdown in US manufacturing, with the new orders index recording its sharpest drop since March 2022 while price pressures accelerated.

Asian markets

Taking cues from the US markets, the Asian markets fell more than 2% on Tuesday morning as the trade-war rout continued to rattle stock market investors. The Japanese NIkkei dropped more than 840 points, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4% on Tuesday morning. The Chinese counterparts are expected to retaliate tariffs with more duties on US, aggravating the trade war.

Crude oil prices

The crude oil prices fell more than 2% overnight as it faced demand and supply shocks on the same day. The crude oil prices fell as concerns over demand rose after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico and additional tariffs on China. Secondly, the OPEC+ pack also agreed to unwind the 2.2 million cut in production, thereby boosting the global supply. Poor demand outlook and higher supply of oil weighed down on crude oil prices on Monday. The WTI crude oil prices fell more than 2% below $68 per barrel and UK oil fell below $72 per barrel.

FII and DII data

The FII continued to sell Indian equities on the first day of March after selling nearly ₹47,000 crore in February. The FIIs sold equities worth ₹4,788 crore, and DIIs added more than ₹8700 crore worth of equities on Monday. In the derivative market, FIIs continued to hold 1.87 lakh contracts in the short side, thereby maintaining their pessimistic outlook on Indian markets.