The Indian stock market has been hit hard by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs. On Thursday, within just 15 minutes of market opening, investors lost over Rs5 lakh crore.
According to The Economic Times, the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) plummeted to Rs453.3 lakh crore, down by nearly Rs5.5 lakh crore compared to the previous day. Key indices witnessed a sharp decline right after the opening bell.
All sectors saw negative trends, with oil and gas being the worst hit. Major drops were observed in shares of Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil, Gujarat Gas, Mahanagar Gas, and ONGC.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold off approximately Rs850 crore worth of shares from the Indian market on Thursday.
Among the hardest-hit companies on the Sensex were Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Titan, and State Bank of India. However, Hindustan Unilever, PowerGrid, and ITC remained relatively stable.
The crash also impacted other Asian markets. South Korea’s KOSPI, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices were all in the red. Japan’s Nikkei 225, however, bucked the trend with gains.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee showed slight recovery in early trade on Thursday. It initially strengthened by 14 paisas against the US dollar, opening at 87.66, though it later slipped to 87.74.
The market turmoil follows US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday imposing a 25% retaliatory tariff on Indian imports, effective August 1. He also warned of sanctions against India for purchasing arms and energy from Russia, though details of the punitive measures were not specified.