Indian shares dip; benchmarks hit month-low as earnings, outflows weigh
The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex fell 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, for the week dragged by a 0.9% drop on Friday to close at 24,837 points and 81,463.09 points, respectively. This was their fourth consecutive weekly decline.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors declined for the week, with information technology, oil and gas and consumer goods topping sectoral losses.
The IT index slid 4.1%, dragged by lacklustre earnings. Infosys fell 4.4% amid concerns over weak client spending and tepid Q1 commentary.
The broader small-cap and mid-cap indexes logged weekly losses of 3.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
The FMCG index lost 3.4%, also pressured by disappointing results from Nestle India and Colgate Palmolive India.
Oil and gas lost 3.5%, dragged by 5.7% drop in heavyweight Reliance Industries on concerns over softness in retail and oil-to-chemicals business.
Financials defied the broader trend, rising about 1% for the week on robust quarterly earnings from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.
Indian shares fall as earnings weigh on IT
'Foreign investors remain uneasy about India's lofty valuations and the underwhelming earnings season hasn't helped,' said Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart. 'The stalled U.S.-India trade deal only deepens market uncertainty.'
Foreign investors have been sellers in India in nine of the previous 10 trading sessions.
Negotiations between India and the U.S. have been hampered by deadlock over tariff cuts,
dimming hopes of an interim deal ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline.
Zomato-parent Eternal posted its best week on record, rising 20.5% on strong quarterly results.
On the day, Bajaj Finance slid 4.7% on asset quality concerns in the MSME segment, while Cipla jumped 3% after a strong profit beat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
13 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Global economies reel from Trump's tariffs punch
Listen to article US President Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners sent global stock markets tumbling on Friday and countries and companies scrambling to seek ways to strike better deals. Pakistan, which exported about $4.1 billion worth of apparel to the United States in the 2024 fiscal year, secured a tariff rate of 19%, but industry figures were cautious about the immediate impact. "Considering India's lower production costs and the likelihood of it negotiating reduced tariffs in the near term, Pakistan is unlikely to either gain or lose a meaningful share in the apparel segment," Musadaq Zulqarnain, founder and chair of Interloop Limited — a leading Pakistani exporter. "If the current reciprocal tariff structure holds, significant investment is likely to flow into DR-CAFTA countries and Egypt," he said, referring to a trade agreement between the US and a group of Caribbean and Central American countries. Elsewhere in South Asia, Sri Lanka also secured a 20% tariff rate from the US, which accounted for 40% of its apparel exports of $4.8 billion last year. "The devil will be in the details as there are questions over issues such as trans-shipment, but overall it's mostly good," Yohan Lawrence, secretary general of the Joint Apparel Associations Forum, a Sri Lankan industry body, told Reuters. Bangladesh has negotiated a 20% tariff on exports to the US, down from the 37% initially proposed by US President Donald Trump, bringing relief to exporters in the world's second-largest garment supplier. The new rate is in line with those offered to other major apparel-exporting countries such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan and Indonesia. India, which failed to reach a comprehensive agreement with Washington, will face a steeper 25% tariff. As Trump presses ahead with plans to reorder the global economy with the highest tariff rates since the early 1930s, Switzerland, "stunned" by 39% tariffs, sought more talks, as did India, hit with a 25% rate. New tariffs also include a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 20% for Taiwan, which said its rate was "temporary" and it expected to reach a lower figure. The presidential order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in a week's time for 69 trading partners, taking the US effective tariff rate to about 18%, from 2.3% last year, according to analysts at Capital Economics. US stocks took an immediate hit. By early afternoon on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.96% to 43,708.00, the S&P 500 1.21% to 6,262.88 and the Nasdaq Composite 1.65% to 20,773.64. Markets were also reacting to a disappointing jobs report. Data showed US job growth slowed more than expected in July while the prior month's data was revised sharply lower, pointing to a slowdown in the labor market. Global shares stumbled, with Europe's STOXX 600 down 1.89% on the day and 2.5% on the week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since Trump announced his first major wave of tariffs on April 2. Trump's new tariffs have created yet more uncertainty, with many details unclear. They are set to take effect on Aug 7 at 0401 GMT, a White House official said. Trump administration officials defended the president's approach. "The uncertainty with respect to tariffs ... was critical to getting the leverage that we needed to create the circumstance in which the president could create the trade deals we've seen over the last few weeks, which have been nothing short of monumental," Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran said on CNBC. The European Union, which struck a framework deal with Trump on Sunday, is still awaiting more Trump orders to deliver on agreed carve-outs, including on cars and aircraft, EU officials said, saying the latest executive orders did not cover that. Also, it is unclear how the administration intends to define and police the transshipment restrictions, which threaten 40% levies on any exporter deemed to have tried to mask goods from a higher-tariffed originator, such as China, as their own product. Trump's tariff rollout also comes amid evidence they have begun driving up prices. US Commerce Department data released Thursday showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3% in June, the biggest gain since March 2022. NO WINNERS? Countries hit with hefty tariffs said they will seek to negotiate with the US in hopes of getting a lower rate. Switzerland said it would push for a "negotiated solution" with the US "It's a massive shock for the export industry and for the whole country. We are really stunned," said Jean-Philippe Kohl, deputy director of Swissmem, representing Switzerland's mechanical and electrical engineering industries. South Africa's Trade Minister Parks Tau said he was seeking "real, practical interventions" to defend jobs and the economy against the 30% U.S. tariff it faces. Southeast Asian countries, however, breathed a sigh of relief after the US tariffs on their exports that were lower than threatened and leveled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region's biggest economies. Thailand's finance minister said a reduction from 36% to 19% would help his country's economy. "It helps maintain Thailand's competitiveness on the global stage, boosts investor confidence and opens the door to economic growth, increased income and new opportunities," Pichai Chunhavajira said. Australian products could become more competitive in the US market, helping businesses boost exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell said, after Trump kept the minimum tariff rate of 10% for Australia.
Business Recorder
42 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
European shares log biggest daily drop after US tariffs hike
FRANKFURT: European stocks logged their biggest one-day drop in over three months on Friday, at the end of a busy week as investors grappled with the repercussions of fresh US levies on dozens of countries, including a 39% tariff on Switzerland. Investors shunned riskier equities globally as Trump continued his tariff blitz, announcing steep levies on exports from dozens of trading partners including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan with countries not listed subject to a base 10% rate ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline. Healthcare stocks lost 1% after US President Donald Trump sent letters to the leaders of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, outlining how they should slash US prescription drug prices. The sector was already singed this week by Novo Nordisk's profit warning. The Denmark-listed Wegovy-maker shed 1.8% and logged its steepest weekly decline on record. 'We saw during the week that companies like Novo Nordisk had different issues. European pharma is very close to bottoming and that's why it didn't react to the uncertainty around tariffs and policy,' Anthi Tsouvali, a multi-asset strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management said. 'Europe is an export market... if we see heightened tariffs all over the world and trade being subdued, then that will have an impact on European companies regardless.' The pan-European STOXX 600 index slid 1.9% and marked its biggest one-week drop since early April when Trump unveiled his tariffs on world economies. The euro STOXX volatility index jumped 4.25 points to its highest in over one-month. The STOXX index has lost over 5% from its March peak, after coming within 2% of that level earlier this week, dragged down by a record plunge in Novo Nordisk shares, and as investors assess the implications of the US-EU trade deal. Markets in Switzerland were shut for a holiday, but UK-listed Watches of Switzerland declined 6.8%, while a US-listed exchange traded fund tracking the country's equities slid to a more than three-month low and was last down 1.2%. Most regional bourses were in the red, with Germany's blue-chip DAX down 2.7%, while Denmark's OMXC fell 1.8% to a nearly two-year low. Banks, that had rallied earlier in the week, were down 3.4% and were the top sectoral underperformer as they notched their biggest one-day drop since early April.
Business Recorder
42 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
World economies reel from Trump's tariffs punch
WASHINGTON: Global markets reeled Friday from President Donald Trump's tariffs barrage against nearly all US trading partners as governments looked down the barrel of a seven day deadline before the higher duties take effect. Trump announced late Thursday that dozens of economies, including the European Union, will face new tariff rates of between 10 and 41 percent. However, implementation will be on August 7 rather than Friday as previously announced, the White House said. This gives governments a window to rush to strike bilateral deals with Washington setting more favourable conditions. Neighbouring Canada, one of the biggest US trade partners, was hit with 35 percent levies, up from 25 percent, effective Friday — but with wide-ranging, current exemptions remaining in place. The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees putting US exporters in a stronger position while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports. But the muscular approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world's biggest economy. Stock markets in Hong Kong, London and New York slumped as they digested the turmoil. Trump's actions come as debate rages over how best to steer the US economy, with the Federal Reserve this week deciding to maintain interest rates unchanged, despite massive political pressure from the White House to cut. Data Friday showed US job growth missing expectations for July, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 1.7 percent, while the Nasdaq slumped 2.3 percent. Trump raised duties on around 70 economies, from a current 10 percent level imposed in April when he unleashed 'reciprocal' tariffs citing unfair trade practices. The new, steeper levels listed in an executive order vary by trading partner. Any goods 'transshipped' through other jurisdictions to avoid US duties would be hit with an additional 40-percent tariff, the order said. But the tariffs also have a distinctly political flavor, with Trump using levies to try and get Brazil to drop the trial of his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. He also warned of trade consequences for Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. Trump's order cited Canada's failure to 'cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs' — although Canada is not a major source of illegal narcotics. By contrast, Trump gave more time to Mexico, delaying for 90 days a threat to increase its tariffs from 25 percent to 30 percent. But exemptions remain for a wide range of Canadian and Mexican goods entering the United States under an existing North American trade pact. Carney said his government was 'disappointed' with the latest rates hike but noted that with exclusions the US average tariff on Canadian goods remains one of the lowest among US trading partners. With questions hanging over the effectiveness of bilateral trade deals already struck — including with the European Union and Japan — the outcome of Trump's overall plan remains uncertain. 'No doubt about it — the executive order and related agreements concluded over the past few months tears up the trade rule book that has governed international trade since World War II,' said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Whether our partners can preserve it without the United States is an open question,' she added. Notably excluded from Friday's drama was China, which is in the midst of negotiations with the United States. Washington and Beijing at one point brought tit-for-tat tariffs to triple-digit levels, but both countries have agreed to temporarily lower these duties and are working to extend their truce. Those who managed to strike deals with Washington to avert steeper threatened levies included Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union. Among other tariff levels adjusted in Trump's latest order, Switzerland now faces a higher 39 percent duty.
