Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex bounce back ahead of looming reciprocal tariffs; realty stocks top gainers

Stock market today: Indian markets closed higher on Wednesday, April 2, rebounding from the previous session’s steepest intraday decline in a month. A strong rally in financial stocks and a sharp recovery in the technology sector helped frontline indices post healthy gains.

The Nifty 50 concluded the session with a gain of 0.72%, settling at 23,332 points, while the Sensex rose 0.78% to close at 76,617 points. The broader markets also regained strength, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index wrapping up at 52,025 points, a 1.61% jump compared to the previous close.

Likewise, the Nifty Small Cap 100 index ended with healthy gain of 1.12%, closing at 16,162 points.

Sectoral Performance: All 13 major sectoral indices end in green

Amid a broad-based recovery in today’s session, all 13 major sectoral indices closed in the green, with Nifty Realty emerging as the top gainer, rallying 3.63%, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty FMCG, which ended the session with gains of over 1%.

Other indices, including Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma, Nifty IT, Nifty Metal, Nifty Media, and Nifty Oil & Gas, also ended the session with gains ranging between 0.22% and 0.8%.

Reciprocal tariffs in focus

Meanwhile, global investors remained focused on developments from the White House, as the long-anticipated announcement on reciprocal tariffs—covering the size, sectors, and countries affected—was expected later in the day, as promised by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Since assuming office in January, he has announced a series of duties on the U.S.’s closest trading partners, including China, Canada, and Mexico. The expected reciprocal tariff could bring more countries under the U.S. tariff radar, as it aims to reduce the trade deficit.

Trump has continued to wield his tariff weapon, ignoring warnings from global agencies that it could trigger a global economic fallout.

Experts believe this could impact the global economy, with affected countries likely to respond with retaliatory tariffs. The White House stated on Tuesday that reciprocal tariffs would take effect immediately after Trump’s announcement, with a 25% tariff on auto imports set to take effect on April 3.

Ahead of the announcement, the latest assessment by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) indicated that India imposes steep tariffs and a range of regulatory barriers on U.S. imports, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and digital services.

Trump, who has described India as the “tariff king” for imposing high levies on U.S. products, expressed confidence that New Delhi would “significantly cut tariffs” before the April 2 deadline.

According to experts, goods from sectors including agriculture, precious stones, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electricals, and machinery may be affected if the U.S. proceeds with imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian products.

They added that these sectors could face additional customs duties from the Trump administration due to the high tariff differential— the gap between the import duties imposed by the U.S. and India on a particular product.