Indian Stocks Rise on US Tariff Delay
The Indian stock market opened higher Tuesday, breaking a two-day losing streak, after the United States delayed tariff hikes on Canada and Mexico by a month. The move will provide relief to global markets following recent sell-offs.
At 9:32 a.m., the BSE Sensex jumped 443 points or 0.58% to 77,630.71, while the NSE Nifty 50 rose 130.25 points or 0.56% to 23,491.30. On the NSE, 11 out of 12 sectoral indices rose, with Nifty Metal emerging as the best-performing sector, while Nifty FMCG lagged behind.
Major gainers on the Nifty 50 index were Infosys, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, and L&T, while Power Grid Corporation, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
Market analysts believe that the improvement was due to US President Donald Trump's move to put the tariffs on Mexico and Canada under a temporary freeze, showing readiness to discuss the terms of trade. According to Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital-Prabhudas Lilladher, Trump had first levied 25% duties on Canada and Mexico owing to migration issues and the inflow of fentanyl into the US. Another 10% duty on imports from China was also imposed but no talks took place on the latter.
The Indian rupee moved to a new low on Monday, plunging below Rs 87 per US dollar mark for the first time.
February 3: FIIs remained net sellers for the 23rd straight session, selling equities worth Rs 3,958 crore, but DIIs invested in Rs 2,708 crore worth of shares.
Meanwhile, volatility index, IndiaVIX, rose 1.83% to 14.3525 points on Monday amid high market uncertainty.
