By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks were muted on Friday, with gains in consumer stocks offsetting a broader decline, while the sentiment remained subdued following the implementation of steep U.S. tariffs on Indian goods earlier in the week.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.05% to 24,488.1 and the BSE Sensex eased 0.02% to 80,067.81 points, respectively, as of 10:01 a.m. IST, after losing about 2% each in the last two sessions on U.S. tariff concerns.
The indexes have lost 1% and 1.25% in August so far, after declining about 3% each in July, dragged down by foreign outflows of about $3.3 billion on tariff worries and muted corporate earnings.
“The tariff issue is important because domestic growth has already slowed, particularly nominal GDP growth, which is so important for equity markets,” said Christopher Wood, head of global equity strategy at Jefferies.
The U.S. implemented an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, doubling the earlier 25% duty.
Meanwhile, the losses were broad-based on the day, with 12 of the 16 major sectors in the red. The small-caps and mid-caps shed about 0.5% each.
Consumer stocks, however, rose 0.6% ahead of next week’s meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council, where sweeping tax cuts to support the economy will be discussed.
“Consumer stocks are showing resilience, buoyed by tax rationalisation and the upbeat outlook for festive demand,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.
Among individual stocks, Ola Electric rose 3% after securing incentive compliance for its Gen 3 scooters. The stock has surged 33% so far in August and is on track for its best month since listing in August 2024.
The domestic economic growth data is due after market hours, with growth in April–June expected to slow amid weak urban demand and sluggish private investment, a Reuters poll showed.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
