The Indian benchmark indices began today’s session on a subdued note, after the global markets tracked cautious sentiment around US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on China. The additional 100% tariffs were a result of China tightening its rare earth restrictions, with Trump also announcing that the US will impose export controls on all critical software from November 1. 

The BSE Sensex fell 339 points or 0.41% to 82,161.26, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 100 points or 0.40% to 25,185.25.

Leading the Nifty index was Interglobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company, rising by 1.13% to bring its share price to ₹5,800.

Asian Paints too surged in the early minutes of trade by 1.03%. The company announced that Asian White Inc. FZE, a wholly owned subsidiary, has commenced commercial production of white cement and white cement clinker, with an initial capacity of 265,000 tonnes per annum at its manufacturing facility in Fujairah, UAE. Bajaj Auto took the third spot on the list, rising by 0.73%. 

Leading the fall was Tata Motors, which declined 1.80%, while investors have a last chance to trade Tata Motors as a consolidated entity, before the demerger record date, which is tomorrow. ONGC and Tata Steel also dipped by 1.69% and 1.08%, respectively. 

On the Sensex index, Bharti Airtel (1.02%), Asian Paints (0.93%), and Maruti Suzuki (0.67%) were the top gainers. Tata Motors, Infosys, and Bharat Electronics were the top laggards, declining between 0.85% and 1.60%. 

Amongst sectoral indices, all except Nifty Auto and Nifty Media were trading in the negative. Nifty Consumer Durables was the top loser among its peers, down by 0.79%, while Nifty Oil and Gas, Nifty Realty and Nifty IT were down by 0.6% each. 

The broader markets reflected the negative sentiment seen in the benchmark indices, as all were trading in the red. The Nifty Midcap 50 and the Nifty Smallcap 50 were down by 0.15%. India VIX, or the volatility index, jumped by 10%, bringing it to 11.15, pointing towards a muted investor’s confidence.