Opening bell: Sensex, Nifty set to open sharply lower as Trump imposes 25% tariffs; M&M, IndiGo, Tata Steel, Jio Financial shares in focus

Indian benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, are poised for a weak opening on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff and penalty on Indian exports. At 8:15 AM, the GIFT Nifty index was trading 174 points, or 0.7%, lower at 24,680, indicating a sharp gap-down opening for the Indian share market.

The tariff will have little impact on India’s H2 FY26E earnings recovery trajectory, as high-weightage sectors such as financials, consumption, and technology are unaffected, Emkay Global said in a report. “There may be a short-term selloff as the markets are already fragile with weak earnings momentum (1QFY26 numbers are tepid) and little valuation comfort, with most indices trading at LTA+ PER,” it said.

The main sectors that may get affected are textiles, auto ancillaries, chemicals and, possibly, oil market companies (OMCs), if Russian crude imports are stopped, Emkay said in its report.

U.S. stocks end mixed as Fed maintains status quo

In the overnight trade, Wall Street ended on mixed note after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its July meeting on Wednesday. During the post-meeting press conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that it’s still "early days" when it comes to assessing the economic effects of tariffs, adding that “no decisions” have been made yet regarding a potential rate cut in September.

Extending losses for the third straight session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.4% lower, while the S&P 500 closed down by 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.

In post-market hours trading on Wednesday, Microsoft shares jumped 6% following strong quarterly results, while Facebook parent Meta shares surged up to 10% after the company exceeded Wall Street expectations for the latest quarter.

Barring Japan, Asian stocks trade in red as August 1 deadline looms

Tracking mixed cues from U.S. stocks, Asian markets witnessed selling pressure on Thursday as caution prevailed ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline. Investors also digested the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision and kept a close watch on ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the worst performer in the region with a 1.6% loss, followed by China’s Shanghai Composite, which plunged 1%. Among others, Singapore’s Straits Times, Australia’s ASX 200 declined 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.

On the other hand, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.9%, Taiwan’s Weighted Index added 0.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi was trading marginally lower.

Stocks to watch

Q1 results today:  Hindustan Unilever , Maruti Suzuki India , Adani Enterprises , Coal India , TVS Motor Company, Vedanta, Eicher Motors, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, One Mobikwik Systems, Ambuja Cements, Swiggy, Dabur India, Emami, ICRA, JSW Energy, Dr Lal PathLabs, Mankind Pharma, and many others will release their June quarter earnings on July 31.

Tata Steel : The country’s largest steel producer reported a 118.5% YoY surge in profit to ₹2,007.4 crore for the quarter, up from ₹918.6 crore, despite a 2.9% drop in revenue to ₹53,178.1 crore.

InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) : The aviation company saw its profit decline 20.2% YoY to ₹2,176.3 crore, although revenue rose 4.7% to ₹20,496.3 crore.

Mahindra and Mahindra : The auto major posted a 24.4% increase in consolidated net profit at ₹4,083.3 crore, while revenue grew 22.8% to ₹45,435.9 crore.

IIFL Finance : The company reported a 19% decline in profit at ₹233.4 crore, even as revenue increased 12.7% to ₹2,952.8 crore.

Jio Financial Services: The company’s board has approved a fundraise of up to ₹15,825 crore through the issuance of 50 crore warrants at ₹316.50 each on a private placement basis to members of the promoter group.

Aurobindo Pharma : The drug maker’s subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% ownership of Lannett Company LLC from Lannett Seller Holdco Inc for $250 million (around ₹2,185 crore).

RITES : The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS), a fully owned subsidiary of NABARD, to collaborate on infrastructure and rural development projects in India and overseas.

Gujarat Gas: The company has reportedly reduced industrial gas prices by ₹3.25 per standard cubic metre (SCM), bringing the new rate to ₹52.23 per SCM, effective August 1.

Bharat Forge: The firm plans to set up a new advanced ring mill dedicated to aerospace applications, following contract agreements with Pratt & Whitney Canada for the supply of aerospace components.

LTIMindtree: The IT company has launched BlueVerse CraftStudio, a next-gen agency that leverages Adobe’s latest AI-driven tools to help businesses optimise marketing operations and unlock substantial value.

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