By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) – India’s benchmark indexes inched up on Tuesday, led by gains in financials, though broader market weakness and uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff proposals capped overall gains.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.24% to 25,522.50 points and the BSE Sensex added 0.32% to 83,712.51.
Eight of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The high weightage financials and private banks rose about 0.7% each, both led by Kotak Mahindra Bank’s 3.5% jump after it reported robust June quarter deposit and loan growth.
Asset managers such as HDFC AMC, UTI AMC gained after country’s markets regulator proposed to allow them to provide investment management to pooled funds.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Trump announced a 25% levy on key Asian allies, including Japan and South Korea, while extending the tariff deadline to August 1 from July 9, allowing more time for negotiations.
The U.S. President reiterated the likelihood of a deal with India.
“India getting a deal will give clarity to investors on what they can expect, which may not be the case for countries that don’t have the deal in place,” said Arun Malhotra, fund manager at CapGrow Capital.
MSCI’s broadest index for Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.5% as investors assessed fresh tariff announcements. [MKTS/GLOB]
Indian textile firms Alok Industries, KPR Mill and Vardhman Textiles rose after the U.S. imposed 35% tariffs on Bangladesh, a key garment exporter, while Trump hinted at a trade deal with India.
Pharma stocks fell 0.9% after Macquarie downgraded Aurobindo and Dr. Reddy’s, and slashed targets for Lupin, Cipla and Zydus on U.S. pricing concerns.
Among other stocks, Titan tumbled 6.1%, marking its biggest daily percentage losses in 14 months, after an underwhelming June-quarter sales.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Vijay Kishore and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
