Indices snap 2-day winning streak on US tariff shock and F&O expiry volatility

Business Standard

4 days ago

The headline equity indices ended slightly lower on Thursday, snapping a two-day winning run, as markets reacted sharply to an unexpected tariff announcement from the United States and volatility from the monthly derivatives expiry.
Indices opened on a weak note and saw a knee-jerk sell-off, but a mid-session recovery in heavyweight stocks helped the indices briefly turn positive. However, renewed selling pressure in the final hour pushed benchmarks back into negative territory. The Nifty 50 slipped below 24,800, dragged down by weakness in energy, metal, and pharma stocks. However, FMCG bucked the weak market trend.
Sentiment turned risk-averse after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods, effective August 1, along with an additional, unspecified penalty reportedly linked to Indias procurement from Russia.
The S&P BSE Sensex declined 296.28 points or 0.36% to 81,185.58. The Nifty 50 index lost 86.70 points or 0.35% to 24,768.35.
Adani Enterprises (down 4%), Reliance Industries (down 1.39%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.34%) were major Nifty drags.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.70% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.85%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,602 shares rose and 2,416 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.01% to 11.54.
Numbers to Track:
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 87.5875 compared with its close of 87.8000 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement rose 0.29% to Rs 98,350.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08% to 99.89.
The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.50% to 4.335.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2025 settlement lost 47 cents or 0.64% to $72.77 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Most European shares declined on Thursday as investors looked ahead to key German inflation data along with with latest unemployment figures from Germany and EU.
Most Asian indices ended lower after weakness in Chinese economic activity coupled with falling copper prices dampened investor sentiment.
Copper futures witnessed sharp sell-off after Trump said the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring. The details of the levy, though, fell short of the sweeping restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes.
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.3 in July 2025 from Junes three-month high of 49.7, falling short of expectations and marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction in factory activity. It was the steepest decline since January, as output growth slowed, while both new orders and foreign sales saw their sharpest drops in three months.
The Bank of Japans policy decision remained on investors radar. Japans central bank is widely expected to stand pat on short-term interest rates at 0.5% for the fourth consecutive time, when its two-day policy meeting concludes later in the day.
Investors also assessed the U.S.′ blanket 15% tariffs on imports from South Korea. The U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Washington had reached a full and complete trade deal with Seoul, setting blanket tariffs on the countrys exports to U.S. at 15%.
The S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday and gave up its gain from earlier in the session after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell threw some cold water on the prospects of a September rate cut.
The broad market index lost 0.12% to close at 6,362.90. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.15% to 21,129.67, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 171.71 points, or 0.38%, to finish the session at 44,461.28.
The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee voted 9-2 on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, with two Fed governors dissenting for the first time in more than three decades.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments after the decision undercut confidence that borrowing costs would begin to fall in September.
The U.S. economic growth rebounded more than expected in the second quarter, but that measurement grossly overstated the economy's health as declining imports accounted for the bulk of the improvement and domestic demand increased at its slowest pace in two and a half years.
The US economy likely grew at an annualized rate of 2.4% in the second quarter of 2025, rebounding from a 0.5% contraction in the first quarter which was the first decline in three years.
New Listing:
Shares of Brigade Hotel Ventures settled at Rs 85.05 on the BSE, representing a discount of 5.50% compared with the issue price of Rs 90.
The scrip was listed at Rs 82, exhibiting a discount of 8.89% to the issue price. The stock has hit a high of Rs 87.80 and a low of Rs 81.49. On the BSE, 21.35 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Mahindra & Mahindra shed 0.14%. The companys standalone net profit surged 32% to Rs 3,449.84 crore in Q1 FY26 as against Rs 2,612.63 crore recorded in Q1 FY25. Revenue from operations increased 26.1% year on year (YoY) to Rs 34,083.23 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2025.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.10%. The car major reported a modest 1.7% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 3,711.7 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2025 (Q1 FY26), compared to Rs 3,650 crore in Q1 FY25. Net sales rose 8.1% YoY to Rs 36,624.7 crore, supported by a marginal uptick in sales volumes and higher non-operating income.
Greaves Cotton surged 7.02% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 220.64% to Rs 33.09 crore on 16.53% increase in net sales to Rs 745.43 crore in Q1 June 2026 over Q1 June 2025.
Tata Steel (TSL) declined 2.2%. The company has reported 97.1% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 2.164.15 crore in Q1 FY26 from Rs 1,097.94 crore recorded in Q1 FY25. Consolidated revenues for the April June 2025 quarter were Rs 53,178 crore, down 2.9% YoY. For the period under review, India revenues aggregated to Rs 31,137 crore, Netherlands revenue added up to Rs 14,619 crore and UK revenue amounted to Rs 6,096 crore.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rallied 3.48% after the companys consolidated net profit increased 5.97% to Rs 2,768 crore on 5% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 16,323 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25. The company reported a consolidated underlying sales growth (USG) of 5% and an underlying volume growth (UVG) of 4%.
Kaynes Technology India soared 9.53% after the companys consolidated net profit jumped 49.96% to Rs 74.61 crore on 33.63% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 673.46 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Relaxo Footwears dropped 6% after the companys standalone net profit declined 13.02% to Rs 48.90 crore in Q1 FY26 as against Rs 56.22 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations shed 5.84% to Rs 654.49 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q4 FY25.
Sagility India hit an upper circuit of 10% after the companys consolidated net profit surged 566.49% to Rs 148.56 crore on a 25.8% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 1,538.94 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
HEG zoomed 7.34% after the companys consolidated net profit surged 354.99% to Rs 104.83 crore on 7.96% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 616.93 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.
Indus Towers tumbled 5.47% after the company reported 9.8% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,736.8 crore in Q1 FY26 from Rs 1,925.9 crore recorded in Q1 FY25. Revenue from operations, however, increased by 9.1% YoY to Rs 8,057.6 crore in the June25 quarter.
IPO Update:
National Securities Depository (NSDL)'s IPO received bids for 17,45,66,250 shares as against 3,51,27,002 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:50 IST on Thursday (31 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 4.97 times.
Aditya Infotech's IPO received bids for 1,12,96,34,110 shares as against 1,12,23,759 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:50 IST on Thursday (31 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 100.65 times.
Laxmi India Finance's IPO received bids for 2,09,18,290 shares as against 1,13,12,816 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:50 IST on Thursday (31 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 1.85 times.
M&B Engineering's IPO received bids for 2,81,61,002 shares as against 97,98,309 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:50 IST on Thursday (31 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 2.87 times.
Sri Lotus Developers and Realty's IPO received bids for 40,54,62,500 shares as against 3,96,58,730 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:50 IST on Thursday (31 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 10.22 times.