Tariff Turmoil: Trent, Sarda Metals, Tata Steel crack up to 20% today as Sensex, Nifty bleed

Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday as the BSE Sensex crashed nearly 4,000 points in the early session, while NSE's Nifty50 tumbled 1,160 points amid the global selloff. However, benchmark indices managed a partial recovery despite falling over 5 per cent at the opening tick.

At the opening tick, Trent emerged as the biggest loser in the Nifty50 pack, which crashed 17 per cent to Rs 4,623.15. The Tata Group stock has cracked nearly 45 per cent from its 52-week high. Tata Steel dived nearly 11.5 per cent to Rs 124.20 in the early session, crashing 33 per cent from 52-week high. Tata Motors was third biggest loser in the Nifty50 pack falling 10 per cent at open.

Among other counters, ONGC and HCL Technologies cracked 7 per cent each, while Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel and Infosys tumbled up to 6 per cent each. TCS, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Enterprise and Jio Financial Services dropped 5 per cent each in the early trade. Interestingly, all 50 stocks of Nifty50 were trading in green.

Globally markets are going through heightened volatility caused by extreme uncertainty. No one has a clue about how this turbulence caused by Trump tariffs will evolve, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. Wait and watch would be the best strategy in this turbulent phase of the market, he said.

"There are a few things that investors should keep in mind. One, the irrational Trump tariffs will not continue for long. Two, India is relatively better placed since India’s exports to the US as a percentage of GDP is only around 2 per cent. Three, India is negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US and this is likely to be successful resulting in lower tariffs for India," he added.

Among other stocks, Interarch Building Products and Sarda Energy & Minerals tumbled 20 per cent each, while Sunflag Iron & Steel Company lost over 18 per cent over its value. Lloyds Metals and Energy, Embassy Developments and Edelweiss Financial Services plunged nearly 14 per each. Bharat Forge Jindal Saw, Inox Wind were down 10 per cent each.

Adding to woes, Fed Chair Powell paused rate cuts amid inflation concerns, and China retaliated with a 34 per cent tariff on US. goods, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd. "With key support for Nifty seen at 21,281, traders brace for further downside. Ahead of RBI’s rate decision on April 9 and TCS’s earnings on April 10, the mood remains cautious," he said.

The market breadth was inclined heavily towards bears with 3,098 stocks, or 90 per cent stocks, trading in red on BSE. Only 273 stocks were trading in green, with 107 stocks being unchanged in the early trade. As many as 315 stocks on BSE hit their 52-week lows, while 58 stocks managed to test their 52-week high levels.

While the specific structure of these tariffs remains uncertain, their implications for India could vary. If they are product-specific, Indian exports might gain a competitive edge over other global players, said Trivesh, COO at Tradejini. "However, a broad, generalized tariff hike could adversely impact key sectors reliant on US trade, " he said.