Indian markets fully recover from tariff-triggered losses
Most global markets remain under pressure from Donald Trump’s tariff moves, despite a temporary pause on additional tariffs for countries other than China.
Indian markets rose for a second straight day on Tuesday, lifted by easing global trade tensions. The Sensex surged 1,577 points (2.10%) to 76,734.89, and the Nifty 50 gained 500 points (2.19%) to 23,328.55. With this rally, the Sensex is now 0.2% above its April 2 level -- when Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs -- making India the first major market to fully recover from the losses triggered by the tariff tantrum.
Most global markets remain under pressure from Donald Trump’s tariff moves, despite a temporary pause on additional tariffs for countries other than China. The 10% baseline tariff and the risk of reinstatement of additional levies in 90 days continue to weigh on sentiment. To be sure, although the BSE Sensex has recovered losses since Trump’s tariff announcement, it is still down 1.8% for the year.
Banking stocks led Tuesday’s gains as major lenders like HDFC Bank and SBI cut deposit rates, easing margin concerns. Realty, metal, and auto stocks also recovered some of their recent losses. Pharma has been the best performer, up 4.6% since April 2. IT stocks saw the steepest decline, continuing a pre-existing slump due to weak earnings and economic headwinds.
The India VIX gauge , which measures market volatility, fell 20% to 16.05 on Tuesday, easing from a high of 22.79 on April 7. The drop reflects improved sentiment, but volatility remains above pre-April 2 levels. Analysts expect it to stay elevated due to the ongoing US-China trade tensions and uncertainty around Q4 earnings.
