Indian stock market: The domestic equity market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open higher on Friday, witnessing a gap-up beginning, despite weakness in global markets amid escalating tensions over US-China trade war and its economic fallout.
Asian markets slumped, while the US stock market ended sharply lower overnight, after a day of stellar rally. US President Donald Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for those countries that didn’t retaliate, while increasing tariffs on China.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday cut the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6% and changed its stance to ‘accommodative’. The RBI also cut India’s GDP growth projections for FY26 to 6.5% from 6.7% earlier.
The Indian stock market was closed on Thursday on account of Mahavir Jayanti 2025.
On Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended lower as fears of a trade war unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies continued to weigh on market sentiment.
The Sensex declined 379.93 points, or 0.51%, to close at 73,847.15, while the Nifty 50 settled 136.70 points, or 0.61%, to close at 22,399.15.
“Indian equities are expected to remain volatile until further clarity on the US tariff front, while the onset of quarterly earnings season could drive stock or sector-specific movements,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded lower on Friday, following overnight sell-off on Wall Street as US-China trade war tensions escalated and fueled risk-off mood.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 5.46%, while the Topix tanked 5.05%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.55% and the Kosdaq dropped 0.11%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening.
Gift Nifty Today
Gift Nifty was trading around 22,940 level, a premium of nearly 460 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a gap-up start for the Indian stock market indices.
Wall Street
US stock market tumbled on Thursday amid worries over the economic impact of US President Donald Trump’s multi-front tariff war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,014.79 points, or 2.50%, to 39,593.66, while the S&P 500 slumped 188.85 points, or 3.46%, to 5,268.05. The Nasdaq Composite closed 737.66 points, or 4.31%, lower at 16,387.31.
Apple share price dropped 4.24%, Nvidia stock price tanked 5.91%, Advanced Micro Devices shares cracked, while Tesla share price plunged 7.27%. CarMax slid 17.0%.
Trump Tariff Pause
US President Donald Trump said he had decided to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for those countries that didn’t retaliate, while increasing tariffs on China. He acknowledged that people were getting “a little bit afraid” about the tariffs and were “jumping a bit out of line,” but repeated his belief that trade deals would be reached with many countries eventually, including China, Reuters reported.
US Inflation
US consumer prices unexpectedly fell in March amid cheaper gasoline and used motor vehicles. The CPI dipped 0.1% last month, the first drop since May 2020, after gaining 0.2% in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would edge up 0.1%. In the 12 months through March, the CPI advanced 2.4% after rising 2.8% in February.
US-China Trade War
US President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports to at least 145%. This includes both a 125% rate that covers “reciprocal” duties as well as levies imposed on China for retaliating against US import taxes. It also encompasses a 20% rate imposed by Trump earlier this year over fentanyl trafficking.
TCS Q4 Results
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a net profit of ₹12,224 crore in the March quarter, registering a decline of 1.3% from ₹12,380 crore, QoQ. Revenue in Q4FY25 rose 0.8% to ₹64,479 crore from ₹63,973 crore, QoQ. TCS’ revenue in USD terms fell 1% QoQ to $7,465 million. EBIT decreased 0.6% QoQ to ₹15,601, while EBIT margin fell to 24.2% from 24.5%, QoQ. TCS’ Total Contract Value was at $12.2 billion. TCS also announced a final dividend of ₹30 per share.
US Jobless Claims
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000 for the week ended April 5. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 223,000 claims for the latest week.
US Fed President
Interest rate cuts remain possible at some point, but uncertainty related to huge changes in US trade policy make it hard to know how the economy will fare for now and how the US central bank’s rate policy should be adjusted, Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said.
Gold Prices
Gold prices neared an all-time high, supported by recession concerns as escalating tariff tensions between the United States and China fuelled investor demand for safe-haven assets like bullion.
Spot gold rose 1% at $3,205.53 an ounce. Bullion scaled to an all-time peak of $3,217.43 earlier in the session, and has gained more than 5% for the week. US gold futures climbed 1.5% to $3,226.50.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices extended their slide on Friday after falling over 3% in the previous session. Brent crude oil fell 0.47% to $63.03 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 0.60% to $59.71.
US Dollar
The US dollar fell against its major peers, hitting a 10-year low against the safe-haven Swiss franc. The dollar weakened 3.89% to 0.825 against the Swiss franc. The euro was up 2.23%. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 2.07% to 144.66.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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