Amid volatile trends, Sensex, Nifty turn flat after rallying in early trade

A day after US President Donald Trump reassured investors that there was no fear of a recession in America, Indian stock markets started the day on a positive note on Wednesday (March 12) opening slightly above Tuesday’s closing figures.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 289.83 points or 0.39 per cent to 74,392.15 in the morning trade. On the similar lines, the Nifty went up 79.5 points or 0.35 per cent to 22,577.40. However, the market indices soon turned flat due to highly volatile global trends amid uncertainties over trade tariff.

Trump’s statement helped US investors recover some of their losses though markets in the US as well as Europe remained cautious.

Indian equity market showing resilience

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Zomato, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.

Also read: US stock market crash: Can India weather the Trump storm?

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.

“Globally, the markets are weak and jittery on concerns arising from the tariff policy uncertainties. This is likely to linger and may even get worse as reciprocal tariffs kick in from early April. In this scenario there is no scope for a sustained recovery in global markets. In fact, further downtrend is likely,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, told PTI.

However, even in this negative backdrop, the Indian equity market is showing some resilience, Vijayakumar added.

Tokyo, Seoul in positive territory; Shanghai, Hong Kong in the red

Besides, experts said that market participants moved cautiously, awaiting cues from macroeconomic data to be released in India and the US later in the day.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Seoul were trading in the positive territory, while Shanghai and Hong Kong stayed in the red.

Also read: Indian markets fall in early trade as US stocks tumble towards their worst day in years

Wall Street settled lower in the overnight deals on Tuesday.

“Since President Donald Trump’s return as the 47th president of the United States, global stock markets have been volatile, with US stocks facing their worst start to a presidential term since 2009,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Unpredictable trade policies, US recession fears fuelling uncertainty

Unpredictable trade policies and recession fears in the US are fuelling uncertainty, leading to panic selling. FIIs have already sold Rs 4,17,216 crore on a net basis this fiscal year, adding to negative sentiment, Tapse added.

According to experts, the uncertainties over tariff moves intensified after President Donald Trump said the US would double the forthcoming levy on steel and aluminium to 50 per cent if they come from Canada but later hinted that he might reconsider the additional hike.

Meanwhile, Global oil benchmark Brent Crude rose 0.65 per cent to USD 70.01 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,823.76 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,001.79 crore on Tuesday, according to the exchange data.

Also read: Stock markets: Global trends, macro data to drive movement amid tariff concerns

The 30-share BSE Sensex on Tuesday settled down by 12.85 points at 74,102.32. The broader Nifty of NSE advanced 37.60 points to close at 22,497.90.

(With agency inputs)