Indian stocks sold off sharply in Friday’s trading session, led by steep declines in pharma stocks and mid- and small-cap tech stocks. The sell-off came amid escalating global trade tensions after the United States imposed steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners and reiterated a 25% duty on India ahead of a trade deal deadline.
The Nifty closed the session down 0.82% at 24,565 points, extending its weekly losses for the fifth straight week with another 1.13% decline. The S&P BSE Sensex also ended lower by 0.72% at 80,599, finishing the week nearly 1% down.
This marks the longest weekly losing streak for both indices in the past two years. Broader markets saw even steeper losses, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices dropping 1.36% and 1.76%, respectively, pushing their weekly losses to as much as 3.5%.
Late Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order modifying “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries that do not yet have trade deals. Rates were set at 35% for Canada, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan, and 19% for Thailand, while Switzerland faced the highest rate at 39%.
The announcement came after months of posturing, meetings, delays, and temporary truces, leaving investors questioning which threats were real and which were bluffs. Much remains unresolved, though Trump will maintain a minimum global tariff of 10%, with imports from countries running trade surpluses with the U.S. facing duties of 15% or higher, the White House said Thursday.
The statement came ahead of the August 1 deadline Trump set last month after pausing country-specific tariffs for the second time to allow more negotiations.
Notably, most of the finalized levies are lower than those threatened on April 2, which had previously sent markets into a tailspin. Major trade deals with Japan and the European Union have since been reached, while talks with China and Mexico are still ongoing. Trump has also struck deals with Thailand, Cambodia, the UK, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, President Trump resumed his criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell after the central bank declined to cut interest rates. Trump’s comments came after Fed officials left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but downgraded their view of the US economy, signaling that policymakers could be edging closer to lowering borrowing costs.
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