Stock market today: Nifty50 ends below 26,300; BSE Sensex down over 320 points on fresh tariff threat from Trump

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the benchmark equity indices, closed in red territory on Monday, weighed down by losses in heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and major IT names, as markets reacted to fresh signals from the Donald Trump on the possibility of higher tariffs on Indian goods.The NSE Nifty gave up early gains after hitting a record intra-day peak of 26,373.20. The index slipped 78.25 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 26,250.30. The BSE Sensex fell 322.39 points, or 0.38 percent, to end the session at 85,439.62. The index had declined as much as 446.68 points, or 0.52 percent, during intra-day trade, touching a low of 85,315.33.Among the 30 Sensex constituents, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries emerged as the biggest drags on the index. On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement provided some support.“The benchmark Nifty index scaled a new lifetime high of 26,373.20 during the session; however, profit-taking emerged near the top, dragging the index lower to test the crucial 26,200 support zone by the close. Market sentiment remained guarded, with participants staying largely on the sidelines amid escalating geopolitical tensions following the US attack on Venezuela over the weekend,” Ashika Institutional Equities said.On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 289.80 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors were also net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 677.38 crore.“President Donald Trump’s renewed remarks on potential tariff hikes against Indian imports linked to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil added a layer of geopolitical caution to global markets, keeping risk appetite in check during today’s session,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.Asian markets ended mostly higher, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and China’s Shanghai Composite posting solid gains, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed marginally higher. European markets were trading with gains, and US equities finished largely in positive territory on Friday.In commodities, Brent crude slipped 0.13 percent to USD 60.67 a barrel.On Friday, the Sensex had advanced 573.41 points, or 0.67 percent, to settle at 85,762.01, while the Nifty rose 182 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 26,328.55.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)