Indian indices open strong, US markets rally amid cooling tariff fears
Markets opened on a bullish note Tuesday, with the Sensex surging 556.87 points (0.75 per cent) to 74,726.82 and the Nifty rising 173.15 points (0.77 per cent) to 22,681.90 at 9:45 AM, after opening at 74,608.66 and 22,662.25 respectively, buoyed by positive global cues and easing inflation concerns. The market momentum continues after Nifty reclaimed the 22,500 mark in Monday’s session.
Major gainers in early trade include ICICI Bank leading with a 2.53 per cent jump, followed by Hindalco (2.02 per cent), Britannia (1.63 per cent), Shriram Finance (1.52 per cent), and L&T (1.34 per cent). On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv led the losers with a 1.68 per cent decline, followed by Bajaj Finance (-0.61 per cent), ONGC (-0.19 per cent), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (-0.16 per cent).
“Global market upswing maintains strength for second consecutive day,” noted Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities. US stocks rose Monday, recovering from a four-week decline triggered by concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and falling consumer confidence. February US retail sales increased 0.2 per cent, rebounding from January’s 0.9 per cent decline, helping ease recession fears.
The positive sentiment extends to Asian markets, which rose on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains. Investors are closely watching the Bank of Japan’s two-day monetary policy meeting that began today, with rates expected to remain steady at 0.5 per cent.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, provided context: “Broad indications are that the market has bottomed out even though further corrections cannot be completely ruled out. Positive domestic cues like rebound in FY25 Q3 GDP growth to 6.2 per cent, spurt in the IIP by 5.1 per cent, increase in gross tax collection by 16 per cent, declining trade deficit and more importantly decline in CPI inflation to 3.6 per cent are positive macro trends which augur well for the market.”
However, he cautioned that these positive domestic factors might not be enough to drive sustained market advances due to headwinds from potential tariff wars. “Hopes of growth revival in China coupled with the cheap valuations of Chinese stocks have triggered foreign capital inflows into China. This has triggered FII selling in emerging markets, particularly India where valuations are relatively expensive,” he added.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have remained net sellers in March, offloading equities worth ₹4,488.45 crore on March 17 alone, continuing a troubling trend that has seen them sell ₹25,717 crore of shares this month. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) partially offset this outflow by purchasing equities worth ₹6,000.60 crore on Monday.
Technical analysts see promising signs. “Nifty remained within the broad range of 22300-22600 for the sixth consecutive session. To regain bullish momentum, Nifty needs to surpass the resistance level at 22700, aiming for an immediate target of 23000,” noted Vikas Jain of Reliance Securities.
Other key market developments include Ola Electric dropping 7 per cent on insolvency concerns, LTI Mindtree declining 2.4 per cent after Citigroup’s contractor cuts, and both Tata Motors and Maruti planning price hikes in April.
The gold market reached a significant milestone Monday as spot prices surged above $3,000 an ounce, setting a new record amid geopolitical concerns. Silver prices are sustaining near $34 per ounce ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. Oil prices stabilized after a two-day gain, with Brent crude trading near $71 a barrel as markets watch China’s economic outlook and Middle East tensions.
Investors await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting concluding Wednesday, where rates are expected to remain steady at 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, with updated economic projections to follow. Additionally, markets will be watching today’s scheduled talks between President Trump and Russian President Putin regarding Ukraine, which could impact global market sentiment.
