Sensex, Nifty fall in early trading amid fresh global trade worries

Indian equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, began the day on a subdued note, showing a slight downward trend.

The Sensex fell 762.24 points to 80,688.77 in early trade while the Nifty dropped 212.25 points to 24,538.45, following weaker Asian markets amid fresh global trade concerns.

At a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration plans to increase the proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminium from 25% to 50%, reigniting concerns of a prolonged trade war. Shares of JSW Steel and Tata Steel fell over 1% in opening trade.

The weak market opening comes even as India reported a strong 7.4% GDP (gross domestic product) growth for the fourth quarter of FY25.

Most automobile stocks were also trading in the red on weak wholesales for the month of May. Tata Motors ' shares declined by 2% to ₹707 during morning trade, following a 10% year-on-year drop in domestic vehicle sales for May 2025. The automaker’s domestic passenger vehicle sales tumbled 11% in May.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India were also trading lower.

Maruti Suzuki reported a 6% decline in domestic passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers, which stood at 1,35,962 units last month, compared to 1,44,002 units in the same period last year.

Hyundai Motor India announced on Monday that its total sales fell by 8% year-on-year to 58,701 units in May. According to a statement from Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the company had recorded total sales of 63,551 units in May of the previous year. The automaker also reported an 11% drop in domestic dealer dispatches, which fell to 43,861 units in May, down from 49,151 units during the same month last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was the only outlier in auto stocks, with its shares rising 1%.

Shares of Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto fell around 2% each. Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, dispatched 5.08 lakh motorcycles and scooters during May 2025. Hero MotoCorp continued to gain retail market share in May 2025, aided by the positive response for its new products across the motorcycle and scooter categories. The company’s electric scooter VIDA continued to deliver growth with dispatches of 8,361 units and 7161 VAHAN registrations for the VIDA V2 electric scooter range. VIDA achieved a VAHAN market share of 7.2%.

“Hero MotoCorp's global retail performance also showed robust momentum, particularly in Bangladesh and Colombia. Exports maintained a steady trajectory, with growth anticipated in the near future underscoring increasing demand for the company's offerings in key geographies,” the company said. The company continued its strategic expansion in the premium segment by further expanding the Premia outlets, its premium retail network, reaching over 100 locations across the country.