Sensex slips over 100 pts, Nifty below 25,450 as US trade deal uncertainty weighs on sentiment

Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Monday amid uncertainty after U.S. officials signalled a delay in proposed tariffs without offering clear details. Meanwhile, oil prices slipped as OPEC+ increased supply more than expected.

The BSE Sensex was down 131 points, or 0.16%, at 83,301, while the Nifty50 declined 37 points, or 0.15%, to 25,425 around 9:18 am.

The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1.


Trump had initially announced a 10% base tariff on most countries in April, with higher "reciprocal" rates of up to 50%, and had set a deadline of this Wednesday.

However, Trump also said levies could range in value from "maybe 60% or 70%", and threatened an extra 10% on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

From the Sensex pack, BEL, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, and Maruti were among the top laggards, slipping up to 1.6%. On the other hand, Trent, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank opened with gains.

Across sectors, Nifty IT, Metal, and Media indices were trading in the red, down up to 0.4%, while FMCG, PSU Bank, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas gained up to 0.5%.

Experts View

"Concerns surrounding a US-India trade deal and the fallout of SEBI’s report on Jane Street will be influencing market movements today. There are reports of a possible interim trade deal between US and India before the July 9th tariff deadline. If that happens, that would be a positive," said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.

"The regulatory action on Jane Street and its implications will be closely watched by the market. The volume of derivative trading is likely to take a hit impacting stock exchanges and some brokerages. This has implications for their stock prices, too," Vijayakumar added.

Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "Nifty can find support at 25,400 followed by 25,300 and 25,200. On the higher side, 25,500 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,600 and 25,700."

Global Markets

Stock markets slipped in Asia on Monday amid confusion as U.S. officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide much detail on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.1%, while FTSE futures fell 0.2% and DAX futures held steady.

Japan's Nikkei lost 0.5%, while South Korean stocks went flat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.6%, as Chinese blue chips dropped 0.5%.

FII/DII Tracker

The Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling on the fifth day as they sold equities worth Rs 760 crore on July 4. On the other hand, after remaining buyers for the last four days, the Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1028 crore on the same day.

Crude Oil

Oil prices slipped on Monday after OPEC+ surprised markets by hiking output more than expected in August, while uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and their potential impact on global economic growth weighed on demand expectations.

Brent crude futures fell 47 cents, or 0.69%, to $67.83 a barrel by 0327 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.05, down $0.95, or 1.42%. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee fell 23 paise to 85.63 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, declined 0.10% to 97.08 level.

(With inputs from agencies)