Sensex, Nifty End Higher Despite US Tariff Jitters; IT And Banking Lead Recovery

The Indian stock market ended slightly higher on Thursday after a volatile session, shrugging off renewed tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.

Textile, jewellery, and auto ancillary stocks with high US export exposure remained under pressure. However, a rebound in IT, banking, and FMCG shares turned the market positive during late trade.

Sensex closed at 80,623.26, up 79.27 points or 0.10 per cent. The 30-share index opened lower at 80,262.98 from the previous close of 80,543.99. It briefly dipped following Trump’s fresh tariff remarks but later touched an intra-day high of 80,737.55 as heavyweight stocks gained traction.

Nifty settled at 24,596.15, up 21.95 points or 0.09 per cent.

IT, Banking and FMCG Shares Lift Sentiment

“Early jitters from Donald Trump’s renewed tariff rhetoric — which proposed a 25 per cent additional levy on Indian imports — were largely absorbed by the market. Sectors with high U.S. export exposure like textiles, jewellery, and auto ancillaries remained under pressure, but a late-session rebound in banking and FMCG helped offset broader losses,” said Vikram Kasat, Head of Advisory, PL Capital.

Among the gainers in the Sensex pack were Tech Mahindra, Eternal, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel. Top laggards included Trent, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra and Mahindra, Kotak Bank, NTPC, and Tata Motors.

Most sectoral indices ended in green. Nifty Fin Services added 32 points, Bank Nifty rose 110 points or 0.20 per cent, Nifty Auto climbed 59 points or 0.25 per cent, Nifty IT jumped 300 points or 0.87 per cent, and Nifty FMCG gained 67 points or 0.12 per cent.

Broader Market and Rupee Movement

“Domestic equities recovered sharply from the intraday lows amid a volatile weekly expiry day. Although the earlier trade was weighed down by broad-based selling following steep US tariff hikes on India, sentiment improved toward the close as reports of potential peace talks involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky raised hopes of a softer US stance on trade,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

Broader markets also mirrored the recovery. Nifty Small Cap 100 gained 30 points, Nifty Midcap 100 surged 188 points, Nifty 100 rose 28 points, and Nifty Next 50 ended 156 points up.

The rupee remained range-bound but tilted slightly positive, trading at 87.67.

“Despite the marginal uptick, the broader trend remains weak due to ongoing US-imposed tariffs on Indian goods, which have weighed heavily on the rupee over the past four months, causing it to slide from 84.50 to 87.70,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

Also Read: US Tariff Hike Weighs On Indian Stocks; Auto & Metal Sectors Hit