Markets extended their decline at midday Thursday, with the Sensex falling 427.90 points to 80,116.09 and the Nifty declining 138.75 points to 24,435.45, as investor sentiment remained subdued following the Trump administration’s announcement of an additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian exports starting August 27.
The benchmark Sensex, which opened at 80,262.98 against its previous close of 80,543.99, traded 0.53 per cent lower at 1:02 PM. The Nifty 50 index, opening at 24,464.20 compared to Wednesday’s close of 24,574.20, was down 0.56 per cent during afternoon trading.
Market breadth remained weak with 2,671 stocks declining against 1,213 advancing on the BSE, while 147 stocks remained unchanged among 4,031 traded securities. The selling pressure was evident across broader indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling 1.38 per cent and the Nifty Bank index declining 0.77 per cent.
Hero MotoCorp emerged as the top gainer on the Nifty 50, rising 2.98 per cent to ₹4,608.30, followed by JSW Steel which gained 0.60 per cent to ₹1,058.90. ITC advanced 0.38 per cent to ₹413.55, while HDFC Bank and Asian Paints posted modest gains of 0.26 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively.
On the downside, Adani Enterprises led the losers with a 3.52 per cent decline to ₹2,219.40, while Adani Ports fell 3.38 per cent to ₹1,320.90. Jio Financial Services dropped 2.42 per cent to ₹318.65, Tata Motors declined 2.06 per cent to ₹639.40, and Shriram Finance was down 1.52 per cent to ₹621.00.
Sectoral indices reflected the broad-based selling, with the Nifty Financial Services index down 0.68 per cent to 26,257.80 and the Nifty Next 50 falling 1.05 per cent to 65,708.45. The market volatility was further highlighted by 230 stocks hitting lower circuit limits compared to 155 stocks in upper circuit.
Market participants remained cautious ahead of the US trade delegation’s visit to India scheduled for August 24, with the 20-day negotiation window providing some hope for resolution of trade tensions. The number of stocks at 52-week lows stood at 141, significantly higher than the 86 stocks touching 52-week highs, indicating underlying weakness in market sentiment.
Foreign institutional investor outflows and rupee depreciation concerns continued to weigh on market performance, with traders maintaining a cautious approach amid ongoing global trade uncertainties and mixed corporate earnings results.
Published on August 7, 2025