Shaun
The latest set of U.S. tariffs, including a massive 104% levy on Chinese imports, take effect on Wednesday (April 9, 2025), leaving markets around the world worried about whether the tariffs would be permanent or U.S. President Donald Trump would bring them down with negotiations.
Analysts have warned that financial markets will experience more swings up and down, given the uncertainty over how long Mr. Trump will keep the stiff tariffs on imports. It is expected to cause a recession if they last a long time.
China said it will “fight to the end” and warned of countermeasures after Mr. Trump threatened on Monday to raise his tariffs even further on the world’s second-largest economy.
Mr. Trump, on April 2, had unveiled a raft of punishing tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of its closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a global trade war.
Benchmark equity indices slumped in early trade on Wednesday after a day’s breather in line with losses in Asian markets amid escalating trade tensions as domestic investors eye the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decision to be announced later in the day.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 554.02 points to 73,673.06 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 178.85 points to 22,357.
“With a whopping 104 per cent tariffs on China likely to kick in today, there is blood on the streets. Uncertainty reigns supreme. How global trade and the global economy evolve from this chaos remains to be seen,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Indian pharma stocks decline after Trump again threatens tariffs
Indian pharmaceutical stocks fell 1.7% on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated plans to announce a “major” tariff on all pharmaceutical imports.
U.S. accounts for a third of India’s overall pharma exports.
Trump also threatened the duties on Friday, after his first set of reciprocal tariffs earlier last week exempted pharma products — a change in stance that had prompted a wild swing in pharma stocks.
On the day, all twenty constituents of the pharma index were lower, with the index dragging down the benchmark Nifty 50 by about 0.52% as of 9:20 a.m. IST.
Gland Pharma, Lupin and Zydus Lifesciences were the top losers by percentage, down between 3% and 5%.
Sun Pharma and Cipla, the top constituents by weight, fell 1.69% and 1.87%, respectively.
Oil prices dived over 4% on Wednesday on concerns about demand from China. Brent futures plunged 3.9% to $60.36 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures also tumbled 4.4% to $56.96 per barrel.
Gold struggled to regain its upward momentum and was last down 0.2% at $2,03976 per ounce, about the lowest in a month.
Stocks slide in Asia as recession fears pummel sentiment
In Asia, S&P 500 futures fell 1.5% while Nasdaq futures dropped 1.7%. The pain likewise spread to Europe, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures down 4.5%, while FTSE futures lost 2.5%.
China’s blue chips slipped 1.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 3.1%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.7%.
Other stock markets in Asia were also deep in the red. Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 3.5%, after rallying 6% on Wednesday on hopes that Tokyo may get some trade deal with the U.S. Taiwanese stocks also fell 1.7% even though the government activated a $15 billion stabilisation fund.
