Sensex down 300 points, Nifty at 24,810 as pharma stocks tank, Sun Pharma top laggard

The Indian benchmark indices opened in the red today, as investor sentiment was weighed down by US President Donald Trump announcing fresh tariffs on pharmaceutical products, furniture and trucks. In a Truth Social post, Trump stated that 100% tariffs would be imposed on branded or patented pharmaceutical products unless a pharmaceutical company builds its plant in America. 

Reacting to the news, the BSE Sensex slid 303 points or 0.39%, to 80,855, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 80.80 points or 0.32%, to 24,810. 

Sun Pharmaceuticals emerged as a top laggard on both the bourses, slipping notably by 3.04% in the first hour of today’s trade. On the Nifty50 front, Cipla followed suit, declining by 2%, Asian Paints by 1.54%, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories by 1.46%. 

On the other hand, Tata Motors, which was yesterday’s top loser, soared to take the top spot, trading 2.12% above yesterday’s closing price, as Jaguar Land Rover announced that sections of its digital estate are now up and running. L&T, HDFC Life, and Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers, each rising between 1% and 1.5%. 

All sector indices except Nifty Auto slipped amid a bearish mood, with Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare being the worst hit, each declining by 2.56% and 2.33% respectively. All continents of the Nifty Pharma were trading negatively, with Natco Pharma dragging by 4.29%. Only Torrent Pharmaceuticals was trading marginally lower in comparison to its peers, by 0.82%.

Nifty IT continued its fall, declining by 1.4%, as investor sentiments were dampened by new H1B visa reforms, which would be wage-based and not lottery-based anymore. This comes as a further blow after a new visa fee os $100,000 was announced recently. India’s prime IT companies, Infosys and TCS, were down by 1.62% and 1.07% respectively.

The broader markets reflected the cautious sentiment, as all indices were trading in the loss zone, with Nifty Smallcap 50 declining by 1.06%, while the Nifty Midcap 50 was down by 0.54%. 

Nifty VIX, the yardstick for market volatility, was up by 1.11%, showcasing the lacklustre sentiment of investors for today’s trading session. On the Sensex index, 7 stocks advanced, and 23 declined, while on the Nifty50 index, 14 gained, and 36 declined.