Sensex, Nifty Suffer Worst Opening Since COVID-19 Amid Trump Tariff Shock

Trump Tariff Shock: Indian share markets plummeted on Monday as escalating global trade tensions and mounting fears of a recession in the United States triggered a widespread sell-off across Wall Street and other Asian markets, reported Hindustan Times.

Asian stock markets nosedived on Monday as global financial turmoil deepened, triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and China’s retaliatory measures.

With fears of a full-blown trade war mounting US futures pointed to further losses on Wall Street, compounding Friday’s historic meltdown.

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Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 7.1% in early trade afterbriefly plunging nearly 8%, while Taiwan's benchmark index slumped close to 10%. South Korea's Kospi lost 5.5%, Australia's ASX 200 dropped 6.3%, and Singapore tumbled 8.5%, signalling widespread panic across Asia. The ASX 200 also hit its lowest level in almost 15 months.

The sharp sell-off followed Wall Street's worst single-day performance since the Covid-19 pandemic. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5.5%, and the Nasdaq slid 5.8%, erasing trillions in market value.

Analysts estimate that over $9 trillion has been wiped off global stock markets in just two days, drawing comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis. Investor confidence has evaporated following China's decision to impose a 34% tariff on all US imports beginning April 10, intensifying fears of prolonged economic disruption.

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The Nasdaq officially entered bear market territory on Friday, as oil and other commodity prices plunged amidst a sharp global downturn sparked by US President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on Wednesday.

Trump's new tariffs were "larger than anticipated", with significant implications for inflation and economic growth, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Friday, highlighting an increasingly uncertain economic outlook in the US. In the two trading days following Trump's 2 April tariff announcement, US markets lost a staggering $5.4 trillion in value, dragging the S&P 500 down to its lowest level in 11 months.

Mirroring the global market carnage, Indian indices also opened to intense selling pressure on Monday. Japan's Nikkei average fell nearly 9% on Monday, while an index tracking Japanese bank stocks plummeted by as much as 17%, as concerns of a tariff-driven global recession continued to shake investor confidence.

"It's incredibly difficult to predict the extent of this market correction," said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities. "As long as there remains uncertainty around the tariffs and how each nation will respond, markets are likely to remain under pressure."

However, Sawada added, "the market currently appears to be pricing in only negative developments, so should we see any signs of flexibility on tariffs or the introduction of economic support measures, it's quite likely we'll witness a market bottom forming."

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