Midday Market Update: Nifty 50 Gains Amid Banking Stocks Surge, But Trade War Concerns Linger

On Wednesday, overall market breadth remained positive, as 1,814 stocks advanced while 865 declined.

Market Update 12:15 PM: India’s benchmark indices opened higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in banking stocks. However, concerns about the extent and impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs limited the upside.

At 12:00 p.m. IST, the Nifty 50 was up 0.4 per cent at 23,262, while the BSE Sensex advanced 0.49 per cent to 76,402. This comes after both indices posted their steepest single-day decline in a month on Tuesday amid growing uncertainty over global trade tensions.

The White House confirmed that the tariffs would take effect as soon as Trump makes the announcement, scheduled for 1:30 a.m. IST on Thursday.

The Nifty 50 has declined 11.5 per cent from its record highs reached in late September, pressured by concerns over U.S. trade policies, slower domestic earnings growth, and persistent foreign fund outflows.

By midday, the top-gaining stocks that lifted Nifty 50 higher are HDFC Bank(+44.31 pts), ICICI Bank (+17.09 pts) and Infosys (+15.52 pts). On the other hand, BEL (-9.26 pts), NTPC (-3.52 pts), and Ultratech Cement (-3.36 pts) were dragging the index down.

Nifty 50 is trading below 200-DEMA today; the index is still in negative territory, according to the DEMA analysis.

On Wednesday, overall market breadth remained positive, as 1,814 stocks advanced while 865 declined. The Nifty Mid-cap 100 and Nifty Small-cap 100 indices were trading marginally higher, 0.7 per cent and 0.52 per cent up, respectively.

On the sectoral front, 14 out of 17 sectors recorded gains, with Nifty Realty rising over 2 per cent, while Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Energy were the top-losing sectors. 

Market Update at 10:30 AM: India’s benchmark indices opened slightly higher on Wednesday after experiencing their steepest decline in a month during the previous session. However, market sentiment remained cautious as investors awaited the latest tariff announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump.

At 10:20 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 edged up 0.35 per cent to 23,250, while the Sensex gained 0.40 per cent to trade at 76,335. Among the 17 major sectoral indices, 9 recorded gains, though the overall increase is limited. Meanwhile, broader market indices, including the Nifty Small-Cap and Mid-Cap, dropped around 0.15 per cent each.

On Tuesday, both the Nifty and Sensex saw significant declines of 1.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, marking their sharpest single-day fall in a month. This dip could encourage some bargain hunting.

The White House stated that the new tariffs would be implemented immediately following Trump's announcement, scheduled for 1:30 a.m. IST on Thursday. However, uncertainty surrounding the extent and impact of these tariffs has fueled concerns about an escalating global trade war.

About 1,212 stocks are advancing against 1,404 declining stocks, thus indicating a negative sentiment in the broader market.

Pre-Market Update at 7:40 AM: The domestic equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to see a flat opening on Wednesday, influenced by mixed global market trends. While Asian markets showed a mixed performance, US stocks closed mostly higher overnight as investors awaited the announcement of reciprocal tariffs by the US.

Gift Nifty was hovering near 23,323, trading at a slight discount of around 15 points compared to the previous close of Nifty futures. This suggests a flat opening for the Indian stock market indices.

The US stock market ended Tuesday’s session with a mixed performance as investors remained cautious ahead of new tariff announcements from the Trump administration.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.80 points (0.03 per cent) to close at 41,989.96, whereas the S&P 500 advanced 21.22 points (0.38 per cent) to settle at 5,633.07. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, gaining 150.60 points (0.87 per cent) to end at 17,449.89.

The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump is set to introduce new tariffs on Wednesday, but specific details on their scope and impact remain undisclosed. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that reciprocal tariffs on nations imposing duties on US goods would be implemented immediately, while a 25 per cent tariff on auto imports is scheduled to take effect on April 3.

Job openings in the US declined in February as uncertainty surrounding trade tariffs dampened hiring activity. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported a drop of 194,000 vacancies, bringing the total to 7.568 million by the end of February. The January figures were revised slightly upward to 7.762 million from the previous estimate of 7.74 million. 

Manufacturing activity in the US contracted in March following two months of expansion, while factory-gate inflation surged to its highest level in nearly three years. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported a decline in its manufacturing PMI to 49.0 from February’s 50.3. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a smaller dip to 49.5.

India’s gross GST collections for March rose by 9.9 per cent year-on-year, reaching over Rs 1.96 lakh crore. After refunds, net GST revenue stood at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, reflecting a 7.3 per cent annual increase.

Asian markets showed a mixed trend on Wednesday, mirroring Wall Street’s movement ahead of Trump’s tariff rollout. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.06 per cent, while the Topix slipped 0.3 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.14 per cent, and the Kosdaq advanced 0.12 per cent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weak opening.

The Indian stock market had a rough start to FY26 as concerns over a potential global trade war triggered a sharp selloff. The Sensex tumbled 1,390.41 points (1.80 per cent) to close at 76,024.51, while the Nifty 50 declined 353.65 points (1.50 per cent) to end at 23,165.70.

Brent crude jumped 0.05 per cent to USD 74.49 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures edged up 0.4 per cent to USD 70.97.

The dollar edged higher while other currencies remained stable as traders awaited details on President Trump's tariff plans, which could influence market trends.Currently trading at 103.88, while USD/INR was trading at 85.58.

On April 01, 2025, foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 5,901.63 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 4,322.58 crore.

There are not any stocks banned for trading in the F&O segment on April 02, 2025.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.