Analysts predict continued volatility in Indian equity markets due to domestic macroeconomic data, F&O expiry, global developments including US tariff policies, and geopolitical tensions.
The Congress has strongly criticised the US government's temporary waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil, raising concerns about continued 'American blackmail' and its impact on India's energy policy.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order retroactively lowering tariffs on a range of agricultural imports, including beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, with the change taking effect from November 20, CNN reported.
Amidst escalating tensions with Iran, the US has granted India a temporary 30-day waiver to continue purchasing Russian oil, aiming to stabilise global energy markets and encourage future US oil imports by India.
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relationship with US President Donald Trump, alleging that Modi is acting as Trump's 'slave' and jeopardising India's interests on trade, oil and foreign policy.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called on Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) to defend the multilateral trading system amid increasing protectionism and tariff volatility during a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.
India and the US have entered a new phase in their relationship, marked by greater parity, point out Harsh V Pant and Vivek Mishra.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said Indian goods will have a competitive advantage in US markets compared to products from China and other competitor countries, which face higher levies, following the reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 18 per cent.
The tariff removal will lower prices of Harley's large-displacement imported motorcycles, which retail between 14.5 lakh and 45.8 lakh but after the duty cut volumes are expected to remain modest.
Gold imports climbed 349.22 per cent to $12.07 billion in January, while silver imports rose 127 per cent to $2 billion.
China's latest defence budget surges to $275 billion, fueling its ambitious military modernisation program and intensifying geopolitical dynamics in the region.
Mexico on Thursday imposed a tariff of up to 50 per cent on imports from its non-preferential trade partners, including India, a move that might hit New Delhi's annual $5.75 billion shipments to its third-largest car export market.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
India's merchandise exports to the US contracted 21.77 per cent to $6.6 billion in January due to high tariffs imposed by America, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Exports contracted in September, October and December last year also. However, it rose 22.61 per cent in November.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claims a trade deal with India failed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call then-President Donald Trump, despite requests.
The Indian rupee, swaying through multiple headwinds, tiding over global trade disruptions and massive foreign fund outlfows, is unlikely to arrest its descent until tariff impact overhangs, notwithstanding robust domestic macroeconomic tailwinds. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which sees the rupee's depreciation as a silver bullet to offset the tariff shock, expects the currency to find its stable course once India reaches a trade deal with its largest trading partner, the US.
Trump announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks come ahead of a high-level summit where India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement.
'There are very few issues and a political call needs to be taken about some of them.'
'What we are willing to do is definitely going to depend on what the Indian government wants to do.'
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended 2.5 per cent higher on Tuesday after India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent.
India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced the conclusion and finalisation of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
US lawmakers have expressed concerns that policies enacted by the Trump administration, such as the H1B visa fee and tariffs on India, are detrimental to American businesses and threaten the relationship between the United States and India.
Textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union, according to exporters.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, and Trent were among the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Eternal, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Bharat Electronics were the gainers.
Domestic equities surged on Tuesday, posting their best single-day gains in more than eight months after a long-awaited trade deal between India and the US. The deal, which lowered tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, significantly improved investor sentiment and lifted a key overhang for the market.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that long-term oil supplies are 'abundant' and there are no worries regarding that, but in the short term, there is a need to get oil on the market.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused Rs 22,615 crore into Indian equities in February, marking the highest monthly inflow in 17 months, driven by factors such as the interim India-US trade deal, correction in domestic market valuations, and strong corporate earnings.
Lavrov's comments came two days after Russia accused the US of attempting to prevent India and other countries from buying Russian oil, saying Washington was using a wide range of 'coercive' measures, including tariffs, sanctions and direct prohibitions.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Greer said that India has taken down some digital services taxes and is moving tariffs down.
The first phase of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is 'nearing closure' and would address the hefty 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, in addition to resolving America's market access issues, a government official said on Monday.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
The rupee, which was the worst performing Asian currency in 2025 and also in January, was the best performing Asian currency on Tuesday.
The US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, President Donald Trump has said, adding that he will lower the tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
Exporters of gems and jewellery have said the free-trade agreement (FTA) has brought relief to their sector because this opens up the world's second-largest market and brings them on a par with China and Thailand, which face zero tariffs on shipments to Europe.
Putin's State visit will centre on fixing the huge India-Russia trade imbalance, with both sides pushing to lower duties, ease non-tariff barriers, and seal a landmark mobility pact to send more Indian workers to Russia.
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