FX.co ★ India Stocks Muted as Tariff Concerns Weigh

The BSE Sensex remained largely unchanged, stabilizing around 83,710 points in early trading on Wednesday. This stagnation followed the reversal of gains from the prior session, primarily due to a robust performance in pharmaceutical and automotive sectors, which counterbalanced declines in metals and technology stocks. Market participants kept a watchful eye on the progress of tariff discussions between India and the US. This came in the wake of US President Trump's announcement that there would be no more extensions, with tariffs set to take effect on August 1. The metals sector took the hardest hit, dropping 0.6% amid news that the US will introduce a new tariff on all copper imports. On the other hand, pharmaceutical stocks managed a modest increase of 0.3%, despite Trump’s plans to potentially impose tariffs of up to 200% on imported pharmaceuticals. Investors are also keenly anticipating the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes later today, which are expected to provide insights into the central bank’s monetary policy direction. Early trading saw losses for companies such as HCL Technologies, which fell by 1.6%, and Tata Steel, which plummeted by 10%. Meanwhile, Asian Paints and Hindustan Unilever experienced gains of 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.