Sensex, Nifty Tumble As Tariff Worries Return To Haunt

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell sharply on Monday, pressured by concerns over weak corporate earnings, uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade and tariff policies, and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Tariff concerns resurfaced as the U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war.

The Trump administration said on Sunday night it was pausing punitive tariffs against Colombia after its leader agreed to grant entry to U.S. military flights carrying deported migrants.

Earlier, Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on the country to punish it for refusing to accept military flights as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

Investors also reacted to weak China data and looked ahead to a raft of central bank policy meetings due later in the week and the Union Budget on February 1 for directional cues.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex fell 824.29 points, or 1.08 percent, to 75,366.17, extending losses for a second straight session.

The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 22,829.15, down 263.05 points, or 1.14 percent, from its previous close.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes tumbled 2.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

The market breath was negative, with 3,518 shares declining on the BSE while 598 shares advanced and 118 shares ended unchanged.

IT stocks led losses, with Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies falling 4-5 percent.

Hindalco and Shriram Finance both fell over 3 percent.

Cement maker ACC lost 3 percent and state-run oil marketing company Indian Oil plunged 5.2 percent after declaring their quarterly results.

Adani Total Gas gave up 3.4 percent on reporting a 19 percent fall in Q3 profit.

CreditAccess Grameen dropped 2.5 percent after slashing its full-year guidance,

Laurus Labs plummeted 11 percent on fears of a hit to its Anti-Retroviral (ARV) business, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the WHO and halting emergency funding programs.