The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Monday as US President Donald Trump threatened to start imposing a new 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from Canada and Mexico.
The new tariffs are expected to be imposed from Monday (US time), with additional import duties expected later in the week. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he would also announce reciprocal tariffs, which would take effect almost immediately.
At 9.30 am, Sensex was trading at 77,575.91, down 284.28 points (0.37 per cent) while the Nifty was down 87.95 points (0.37 per cent) at 23,472.00.
Rupee also weakened by 53 paise to 87.95 against the US Dollar.
Most Nifty stocks were trading lower. JSW Steel and Tata Steel declined the most after Trump threatened to slap tariffs imports on steel and aluminium.
Nifty Pharma was also down over fears that the US tariffs can spillover from metals to pharma products. Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank were the only ones in green.
Bharti Airtel, Britannia, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank were among major gainers on the Nifty.
After a negative opening, Nifty can find support at 23,500 followed by 23,400 and 23,300. On the higher side, 23,700 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 23,800 and 24,000, according to Hardik Matalia, deriviative analyst, Choice Broking.
The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 50,000 followed by 49,700 and 49,500. If the index advances further, 50,300 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 50,500 and 50,800, he mentioned.
In Asian markets, South Korean stocks remained nearly unchanged on Monday morning as tech gains offset losses of steel and auto shares amid concerns about the impact of Trump's sweeping tariffs on the industries.
Meanwhile, The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 470 crore on February 7, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 454 crore.
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