By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks settled little changed on Tuesday, cooling off after a six-session rally that erased their 2025 losses, and as U.S. reciprocal import tariffs loomed.
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.04% to close at 23,668.65, while the BSE Sensex also added 0.04% to 78,017.19. The indexes rose as much as 0.9% and fell up to 0.25% during the session.
India’s broader smallcaps and midcaps fell 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively, snapping a six-day winning streak.
“Nobody still has a grip on how the U.S. tariffs will end up. At this stage, it is about threats and compromises… Markets will be volatile till the tariff uncertainty eases,” said Pramod Gubbi, co-founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries may get breaks. The latest comments on tariffs from Trump and the U.S. Treasury Secretary indicate that the levies will be narrower-than-expected.
India is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating, Reuters reported, citing sources.
India’s information technology stocks rose 1.3%. The U.S. economy contributes substantially to IT companies’ revenue.
Heavyweight HDFC Bank, up 1.2%, was the top boost for the benchmarks. The lender is seen as a key beneficiary of revised guidelines on so-called priority sector lending.
Peer ICICI Bank fell 1.1%, snapping a six-session winning streak, and capping gains in financials.
UltraTech Cement rose 3.4% after UBS upgraded its stock to “buy” from “neutral”, citing likely demand recovery in the financial year that starts on April 1.
Foreign investors, whose relentless selling was in part responsible for the $1 trillion rout in Indian markets, bought shares worth $1.61 billion in the last three sessions.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema)
