Stock Market Highlights: Trump Tariff Exemptions Boost Pharma, But Nifty Ends Below 23,300

Sensex, Nifty dip after Trump’s tariff shock; Pharma shines with 4.7% jump, IT takes the biggest hit amid global trade worries.

Updated: April 3, 2025 | 3:38 PM IST

The Indian stock markets remained under pressure on Thursday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping announcement of reciprocal tariffs. Despite early volatility, benchmark indices closed marginally lower with Nifty 50 slipping 0.39% to 23,242 and the Sensex dropping 0.46% to 76,265. The IT sector bore the brunt of the global uncertainty, while pharma stocks surged on the back of tariff exemptions.

Also Read: Trump Tariffs Target Remote Penguin Island With No Human Inhabitants

Top Highlights from the Market:

• Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs: A 10% base import duty on all U.S. imports and steep reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries (India at 26%) rattled global markets, leading to a dip in equities and rise in safe-haven assets.
• Nifty Pharma up 4.7%: Pharma stocks jumped as steel, aluminium, autos, and pharma products were exempted from the U.S. tariff hike.
• IT Sector Falls 3.9%: Nifty IT index dropped as fears of economic slowdown in the U.S. and pressure on Fed’s rate cut trajectory spooked investors.
• Midcap & Smallcap Resilience: BSE SmallCap index gained 0.58% and MidCap rose 0.17%, showing underlying strength in broader markets.
• PSU Banks Rally: Nifty PSU Bank index rose 2.5% with all constituents in the green.
• Global Impact: Dow Jones futures fell over 900 points post-tariff news. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures dropped 3.9% and 4.7% respectively.

Also Read: “Mixed Bag, Not Setback”: India Analyzing Impact of Trump’s 26% Tariff

Experts like Colin Shah of Kama Jewelry and Sumit Pokharna of Kotak Securities weighed in on sector-specific impacts — with jewellery exports, gold imports, and IT services expected to bear the consequences of retaliatory trade measures.

Also Read: Inside Trump’s Tariffs: China, India, EU Among Hardest Hit in New Trade Blitz

With Morgan Stanley and Motilal Oswal expressing caution over global growth and inflation scenarios, investors may continue to tread carefully in upcoming sessions, awaiting earnings cues and RBI’s interest rate decision next week.

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