By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -Indian shares logged their biggest one-day drop in a month on Tuesday as concerns regarding U.S. reciprocal tariffs dragged the heavyweight information technology and financial indexes.
The NSE Nifty 50 fell 1.5% to 23,165.7, while the BSE Sensex lost 1.8% to 76,024.51, in their steepest drop since February 28. The market was closed on Monday for a local holiday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that reciprocal tariffs slated for April 2 will include all countries. The U.S. also flagged concerns over India’s increasing and burdensome import-quality requirements, among its many barriers to trade.
“Global trade remains volatile with U.S. tariff war reshaping economic dynamics,” said Manish Goel, founder and managing director of Equentis Wealth Advisory.
However, the overall outcome may not be as challenging as feared, Goel said.
Reuters reported India was open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion, the biggest cut in years.
Still, on the day, IT companies, which get a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., lost 2.5%. They have already sunk 15% this year but remain susceptible to the potential of lower spending by clients in case of a tariffs-led U.S. slowdown.
“While IT has seen a dip in valuations, the impact on earnings remains highly uncertain due to the forecast of possible U.S. recession,” said Vineet Agrawal, co-founder of Jiraaf.
Financials lost 2.2%. Goldman Sachs and HSBC flagged a slowdown in the sector due to sluggish loan growth.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Bucking the trend, Vodafone Idea jumped 19.1% on the government’s plan to raise its stake in the telecom company by converting some spectrum dues into equity, giving it a lifeline amid its struggles with a debt load and better-funded rivals.
The move will keep the telecom sector a three private-player market, CLSA said, double-upgrading Vodafone to “outperform”.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
