Trump tariff impact? Sensex opens over 500 points down after US vowed 25% levies on Indian imports

General Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Thursday, July 31, after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on most Indian imports. The Sensex plunged over 500 points at the open, while the Nifty 50 slipped below the 24,650 mark, as investors reacted.

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Indian markets opened sharply down on Thursday(July 31), with the Sensex falling over 500 points in early trade, as a reaction to US President Donald Trump announcing plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports.

The move, seen as a sharp escalation in trade tensions, has rattled investor sentiment, triggering broad-based selling across sectors.

Initially, at the open the Benchmark indices tumbled, with the Sensex nosediving nearly 500 points and the Nifty 50 slipping below the 24,650 mark, following a sharp selloff triggered by fresh US tariffs on Indian goods.

The market rout came a day after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent duty on most Indian imports, heightening trade tensions and shaking investor confidence.

The Sensex opened at 80,695.50—down from the previous close of 81,481.86—and dropped almost 1 per cent to touch an intraday low of 80,695.15. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 opened at 24,642.25 and plunged to a low of 24,635.00, slipping nearly 1 per cent from Monday’s close of 24,855.05.

Mid- and small-cap stocks bore the brunt of the selloff, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices diving up to 2 per cent.

A day after slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and introducing penalties linked to New Delhi’s ongoing defence and energy deals with Russia, US President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of India’s trade and strategic choices.

“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” Trump said, blaming India for a “massive” trade imbalance with the US.

He also targeted India’s military ties with Moscow, saying the country “has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia” and continues to be one of its largest energy customers “at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine.”