Stock Market Opening: Nifty, Sensex Jittery After Trump Tariff Announcement; IT in Pressure, Pharma Shines

Stock Market Today: The Indian stock market started the day on a cautious note after Donald Trump announced tariffs on April 2. Major information and technology sector stocks including Infosys, HCL, Wipro remained under pressure, whereas pharmaceutical sector stocks cheered as Trump spared the industry from harsh tariffs.

Nifty 50 opened 182 points lower at 23150, but turned green in the first thirty minutes of trading. BSE Sensex opened 800 points lower at 75811 but showcased a positive trajectory later.

IT heavy weights including Wipro, Infosys, HCL etc emerged as top laggards during the pre-market session. Dabur stock was also under pressure after weak Q4 update. Pharma sector stock started the day on a strong note.

NSE and BSE ended with gains on Wednesday, April 2, after Nifty 50 reclaimed its 23,300 mark with a sharp correction and recovering nearly half of previous day's losses. Whereas, Sensex was up nearly 593 points. Tata Consumer, Zomato, emerged as the top gainers. Apart from major stocks, all NSE indices ended in green, with FMCG and consumer durables emerging as top gainers.

Commenting on the outlook of Nifty50 for today, Nirmal Bang brokerage mentioned that Nifty will open on a gap down and will likely to witness sideways moving during the day.
"On technical grounds, Nifty has an immediate support at 23140. If Nifty closes below that, further downside can be expected towards 23070-23000 mark. On the flip side 23400-23500 will act as strong resistance levels," noted the brokerage firm.

Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking suggested a cautious sentiment among traders of the Indian stock market today which will be influenced by global cues like crude oil prices and institutional flows.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd said, "Indian equities are expected to remain volatile as they react to the tariff announcements; taking cues from the initial response of the global markets."

"From a technical standpoint, the Nifty formed an inside candlestick on the daily chart, indicating indecisiveness in market sentiment. A breakout above key levels could lead to a bullish movement in the near term. Immediate support levels are seen at 23,000 and 22,800, which could present potential buying opportunities, while resistance levels are observed at 23,500 and 23,700," said Matalia.

On Wednesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their support to the Indian stock markets as they continued their selling streak for the third consecutive session on April 2, offloading equities worth ₹1,538 crore. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained net buyers for the fourth consecutive day, purchasing equities worth ₹2,800 crore.

Stocks in Focus Today

Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries on Wednesday announced Rs 65,000 crore investment to establish 500 CBG plants across Andhra Pradesh. The company shared its plan to utilise nearly 5,00,00 acres of barren and waste lands in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa will be utilised for this purpose.

Dabur

The FMCG giant in its Q4 update, shared on Wednesday indicated a muted Q4 earnings. In its BSE filing, the company said that the rural market continues to be resilient and grew ahead ofurban markets. The company maintained that their growth momentum, e-commerce, and modern trade business will continue to showcase growth during the quarter under review.

HDFC Bank

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Wednesday, warned the bank about alleged non-compliance related to its custodian activities. SEBI's administrative warning letter to the bank is likely to impact HDFC shares movement today.

Macrotech Developters

The real estate stock will remain in focus today as its owners have accused the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) of using forged documents to unlawfully capitalise on the 'Lodha' brand.

Maruti Suzuki

The automaker announced a price hike for its cars across all range in April. The revised prices hike of nearly Rs 60,000 will affect the price of all Maruti Suzuki cars and will come into effect from April 8.