After a brief midweek break and a shaky session on Wednesday, Indian equity markets opened with a strong upward momentum on Friday, buoyed by global optimism over US President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily pause new tariffs. The Sensex surged 1,116.32 points, or 1.51%, to open at 74,963.47, while the Nifty rose 359.85 points, or 1.61%, to start the day at 22,759.00. The sharp rally reflected investor relief despite the unfolding chaos in global markets, particularly in the United States.
Domestic Market Outlook Brightens
On the domestic front, key gainers on the Sensex included Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, L&T, and HCL Technologies. In contrast, Nestle India, TCS, and Asian Paints lagged behind. Market analysts noted that the index could face resistance around the 22,960-23,000 level, while support is seen near 22,640-22,600. For the Sensex, the crucial resistance zone is pegged at 74,900-75,000, with support seen near 74,000-73,900.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities highlighted that if the Nifty sustains above 23,000, a rally toward the 23,200 mark is likely. This outlook, however, remains contingent on global cues and institutional inflows.
Wall Street Reels from Tariff U-turn
While Indian markets celebrated the pause, the mood in the US shifted quickly. After initially announcing a 90-day tariff halt, the White House reversed its stance, declaring a much steeper 145% tariff on Chinese imports—far higher than the anticipated 125%. The abrupt policy flip triggered massive volatility, leading to a selloff in US equities. The Dow Jones at one point plunged over 2,100 points before recovering partially to close down 1,014 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 dropped 3.46%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 4.31%.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the decline, with Tesla plummeting 8%, Apple losing over 4%, and Nvidia and Meta dropping nearly 7%. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield held steady at 4.39%, indicating cautious sentiment among bond investors.
Contrastingly, Asian markets rallied on hopes that the harsher tariffs would be limited to China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared 9.13%, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 6.60%. Gains were also seen in Australia, Hong Kong, and mainland China, signaling that investors in the region remained optimistic about limited spillover effects.
