Stock market today (AI image)

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, dropped in opening trade on Monday as fears of fresh Donald Trump tariffs spooked global markets. While Nifty50 went below 25,600, BSE Sensex was down over 350 points. At 9:16 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,578.70, down 116 points or 0.45%. BSE Sensex was at 83,211.00, down 359 points or 0.43%.Investors will weigh in Trump’s trade-related risks and shifting policy expectations, prompting analysts to forecast range-bound trading in the near term.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “It’s going to be volatile days ahead in the near-term for stock markets globally with big geopolitical and geoeconomic developments impacting markets. We don’t know now how President Trump’s disruptive policies are going to impact international trade and global economic growth. How the European nations are going to react to President Trump’s latest Greenland tariffs remains to be seen.” “If Trump walks his talk and imposes 10% tariffs on the eight European countries on February 1st and follows it up by raising the tariffs to 25% from June 1st onwards, retaliation by the European bloc is almost certain. In such a scenario a trade war will break out impacting global trade and growth. The likely impact of such a development on the market will be negative. It is also likely that Trump chickens out as has happened in the past. Investors can wait and watch for the developments to unfold. Long-term investors can utilise the volatility to selectively buy the dips focusing on high quality large caps which will eventually weather the storm.”Wall Street’s key indices ended Friday with marginal losses, even as earnings from major technology and banking firms largely met expectations. Market sentiment was unsettled by comments from US President Donald Trump suggesting he may not appoint his expected nominee, widely seen as favouring interest rate cuts, as chair of the Federal Reserve. The remarks pushed the US dollar close to a six-week high.Risk appetite weakened further after Trump proposed fresh tariffs on eight European countries, reviving concerns over trade tensions and their broader economic impact. The announcement triggered a pullback in risk assets and strengthened demand for safe-haven instruments, though the dollar later eased.Safe-haven buying intensified at the start of the week, lifting gold and silver prices to record highs on Monday. Investors moved to protect portfolios amid rising geopolitical uncertainty following Trump’s threat to impose extra tariffs on European nations over the control of Greenland.Market participants said near-term trends are likely to remain sideways, with stock-specific movements driven by earnings outcomes and developments on trade, while geopolitical escalation remains a key downside risk.In Indian markets, foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of equities worth Rs 4,346 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors provided partial support, emerging as net buyers with investments of Rs 3,935 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)