MUMBAI: The Indian stock market on Tuesday continued its downward trend with both Sensex and Nifty ending the day in the red, as investors reacted negatively to the latest tariff measures by US President Donald Trump.
At the closing bell, the Sensex dropped by 1, 018.20 points, or 1.32 per cent to close at 76, 293.60. During the trading session, the index fluctuated between 77, 387.28 at the day's high and 76, 030.59 at the low.
Similarly, the Nifty ended the session down by 309.80 points, or 1.32 per cent to settle at 23, 071.80. The index touched a high of 23, 390.05 but slipped to 22, 986.65 at its lowest point of the day.
As the sell-off in the markets was widespread, 44 out of the 50 Nifty stocks closed the session in the red.
Leading the losses were Eicher Motors, Apollo Hospitals, Shriram Finance, Coal India and Bharat Electronics, which saw declines of up to 6.70 per cent.
On the other hand, only six stocks -- Adani Enterprises, Trent, Grasim, Bharti Airtel, and Hindalco -- managed to stay in positive territory, with gains of up to 0.76 per cent.
The selling pressure was not limited to large-cap stocks. Broader markets were hit even harder, with the Nifty Smallcap100 falling 3.45 per cent and the Nifty Midcap100 dropping 3.02 per cent.
Market experts believe that the uncertainty around US trade policies and the impact of tariffs on global trade have led to weak investor sentiment.
All sectoral indices on the NSE closed in negative territory amid the broad-based selling pressure in the market.
The Nifty PSU Bank, Auto, Healthcare, Realty, and Media indices saw the steepest declines, with losses extending up to 3.28 per cent.
Meanwhile, sectors like IT, FMCG, and consumer durables also struggled to end the session down by over 1 per cent each.
Meanwhile, the Indian Steel Association (ISA) has expressed deep concern over the US decision to impose tariffs on steel imports, urging the Indian government to push for the removal of long-standing anti-dumping and countervailing duties and to secure exemptions from these restrictive measures.
The latest tariff is expected to slash steel exports to the US by 85 per cent. These tariffs could lead to a massive steel surplus that will likely flood the Indian market, ISA warned.