Sensex drops over 200 pts, Nifty below 26,150 amid tariff jitters and foreign selling

Indian equities opened lower on Thursday, with the Sensex and Nifty extending a cautious run into a fourth straight session as concerns over U.S. tariffs and continued foreign fund outflows overshadowed pockets of optimism around earnings growth.

The BSE Sensex fell 220 points, or 0.27%, to 84,735, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 69 points, or 0.26%, to 26,071, keeping benchmarks under pressure in early trade.

On the 30-stock Sensex, TCS, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Maruti Suzuki were among the biggest drags, with losses ranging from about 1% to 1.5%.


Broader markets were little changed, with mid-cap and small-cap indexes trading largely flat.

HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, the heaviest weights on the benchmark indices, which have been under pressure this whole week, slipped between 0.5% to 1% in early trade.

Expert views

From the fundamental perspective, there is good news for the economy and markets, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, adding that advanced estimates project the FY26 GDP growth at an impressive 7.4%.

"This reflects the underlying resilience of the economy despite Trump tariffs. However, this strong fundamental is unlikely to reflect in the market very soon since the much-awaited US-India trade deal, which is critical for India’s sustained growth and macro-economic stability, is not happening. This and the continuing FII selling are impacting the market. Even though Indian large cap valuations are fair, cheaper valuations in other markets do not offer compelling need for FIIs to buy in India," said Vijayakumar.

The market mood may change if the Supreme Court verdict on the reciprocal tariffs, expected soon, goes against President Trump, said Vijayakumar.

FII/DII Tracker

On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth nearly Rs 1,528 crore on January 7, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,889 crore.

Global Markets

Asian equities were mixed in early trading, pausing after a buoyant start to the year that has carried several markets to fresh highs even as geopolitical strains persist.

MSCI’s broad index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan seesawed between modest gains and losses, while Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.74%. U.S. equity futures were little changed: Nasdaq futures edged down 0.02%, and S&P 500 futures added 0.05%. European futures pointed lower.

In commodities, spot gold eased 0.11% to $4,448.20 an ounce.

Developments in Venezuela continued to dominate headlines after the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, with the clearest market response so far concentrated in commodity prices rather than equities.

Crude impact

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, snapping a two-session slide after a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories lent support to futures, even as traders kept a close watch on developments in Venezuela.

Brent crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $60.34 a barrel by 0104 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $56.36 a barrel.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee weakened in early trade on Thursday, slipping 8 paise to 89.95 against the U.S. dollar, as a firmer greenback and hedging demand pressured the currency.

The rupee faced mild headwinds from strength in the dollar index, which rose to 98.72, while most Asian currencies traded lower amid a subdued risk environment. U.S. economic data released on Wednesday offered mixed signals, providing little relief to emerging-market currencies.

(with inputs from agencies)