Market braces for volatility ahead of Trump’s tariff rollout; ITC, Adani Green, Vodafone Idea, auto stocks in focus

The domestic equity market is expected to trade cautiously this week as investors turned jittery ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to be unveiled on April 2. There is concern in the market that the tariffs could significantly slow global economic growth or even trigger a recession in the U.S. economy as well as drive up inflation.

For today, the global trends and GIFT Nifty Futures indicate negative opening for the domestic bourses. At 8:00 AM, GIFT Nifty Futures were down 168 points at 23,469, signaling sharp gap-down opening for the benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty.

On Friday, the equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended in negative terrain on the final trading session of FY25. The 30-share Sensex settled 191 points, or 0.25%, lower at 77,415, and the Nifty50 ended down at 23,519, down 73 points, or 0.31%. In line with benchmark indices, broader indices ended in the red, with the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 sliding 0.32% and 0.15%, respectively. For the month, the benchmark indices delivered positive returns of 6% as the market ended its five months losing streak in March 2025 – the longest monthly losses since 1996.

U.S. stocks end mixed after Trump's tariff announcements

In the overnight trade, U.S. stocks settled on mixed note, paring most of early losses, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ending in green zone, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed in negative terrain. The market regained ground in the final hours of trade after President Trump reaffirmed that reciprocal tariff is set to be announced on Wednesday, which will apply to all countries. At the close, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.55%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.14%.

Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher

Snapping Monday’s losses, Asian stock traded higher on Tuesday, tracking mixed cues from Wall Street. However, looming fears about global trade scenario capped upmove as investors braced for Trump's reciprocal tariffs starting April 2. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.67%, South Korea’s KOSPI rallied 1.8%, and Taiwan’s Weighted stock index jumped 2%. Among others, Hong Kong’s Hang Sang soared 0.7%, and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.5%. On the other hand, Singapore’s Straits Times was down 0.4%.

Stocks to watch

ITC: Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited (ABREL), the realty arm of the Aditya Birla group, has signed a deal to sell its pulp and paper businesses to ITC for ₹3,498 crore via a slump sale. 

Vodafone Idea: The telecom stock will be in focus as the central government is set to further hike its stake in the company to 48.99% following the conversion of outstanding spectrum auction dues into equity shares.

Auto stocks: Shares of auto companies, including Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, and Hyundai Motors India, will be in focus as they released their monthly sales figures for March.

IREDA: The PSU has secured JPY 26 billion through external commercial borrowings (ECB) from the State Bank of India (SBI), Tokyo Branch, to boost its renewable energy projects across India.

Adani Green Energy: The Adani group company has started operationalisation of 480.1 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy projects at Khavda, Gujarat through its wholly-owned step-down subsidiaries.

Vedanta: Anil Agarwal-led metal and mining company has extended the deadline to complete its planned demerger from March 31 to September 30, citing pending regulatory approvals.

Waaree Energies: The renewable energy company has inaugurated India's largest solar cell manufacturing gigafactory in Chikhli, Gujarat.

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