Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1 and an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.
The US on Monday decided to delay imposing its "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariffs until August 1, allowing more time to iron out issues between New Delhi and Washington before finalising an interim trade deal. On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs against a number of countries including India (26 per cent), but paused the implementation of these duties for 90 days, giving all trading partners the deadline till July 9 to reach a deal.
India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $41.68 billion in October, as gold imports trebled and outbound shipments registered their sharpest contraction in 14 months, according to data released by the commerce department.
The fee hike for the US H-1B visa by the Donald Trump administration has no short-term impact on Tata Technologies Ltd, although it will change resourcing plans for the future, according to its CEO and managing director, Warren Harris.
The escalating trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, according to experts. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (PTI) President S C Ralhan said that imposition of higher tariffs by the US on China will shift demand towards India, which exported goods worth Rs 86 billion to the US in 2024-25.
Healthcare major Max Healthcare Institute delivered a healthy performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Strong patient volumes and average revenues not only boosted the top line but also aided the operating performance.
The stock of Bharti Airtel, India's largest listed telecommunications (telecom) services provider, recently hit an all-time high on expectations of higher average revenue per user (Arpu), a stable market setup, and fresh revenue lines.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) on Friday reported a 13 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in consolidated revenue from operations for the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), largely due to the cyberattack on its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in late August that forced a shutdown of its manufacturing operations for over five weeks.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Monday said its consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 5,524 crore in the second quarter ended September compared to the year-ago period, mainly on account of savings in finance cost on debt from banks and an increase in average revenue per user supported by a tariff hike.
China on Friday said it is assessing whether to start trade talks with the US on tariff reductions following recent approaches by Washington, a move that would possibly ease the tit-for-tit tariff war between the world's two largest economies. "China is making assessments as the United States has recently reached out to convey messages to China through relevant parties many times, expressing hope to engage in talks with Beijing over tariff issues," the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement in Beijing.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation hitting an all-time low in October would encourage the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the policy repo rate in its upcoming December 3-5 meeting. However, the July-September GDP growth, expected to be above 7 per cent, may act as a deterrent.
A day before US President Donald Trump's additional 25 per cent tariff kicks in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a vehement pitch for swadeshi and Make in India that should help create jobs in the country.
From the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and ITC were among the gainers. However, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Maruti and Eternal were among the laggards.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), economists remain torn between a reduction in rate cut and a pause.
After Donald Trump became president of the United States, he unleashed economic weaponisation, upsetting the old world order, leading to much unrest. If that wasn't all, the threat of an imminent nuclear war was issued by the US, Russia, China, North Korea and Pakistan. In today's fractious times, Dr Paulos Mar Gregorios would have made a dent, notes His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III.
Investors should tilt their portfolios towards domestic-facing defensive sectors, which should help provide stability and shield them from geopolitical and tariff risks.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarifies President Trump's stance on H-1B visas, emphasizing his priority for American workers while acknowledging the need for skilled foreign workers to train them in specialized industries.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
'Trade deal will act as a strong trigger for market sentiment, not just for domestic investors but also for FIIs.'
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Russian President Vladimir Putin for a private dinner and summit, focusing on defence, trade, and geopolitical issues, including the Ukraine conflict and the impact of US sanctions.
While growth in India is largely domestic and hence the overall GDP effect may not be more than 0.15-0.2%, but overall trade will be impacted due to every country going back to the drawing board, points out Madan Sabnavis.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that India has offered to drop all tariffs on American goods. Speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Trump also said he had a "little problem" with Tim Cook, and he told the Apple CEO that he does not want him to build iPhones in India.
On President Putin's two-day trip to India, Jaishankar said for a "big" and "rising" country like India, it is important to maintain good cooperation with as many important players as possible in the world in line with freedom of choice.
So far this year, the rupee has fallen by 4.2 per cent, the worst among its Asian peers.
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that India and Pakistan "made peace" in May after he threatened to snap trade deals with them if they continued their military conflict.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have updated their outlook for the Indian markets, and they now expect the Sensex to hit the 107,000 mark by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, translating into an upside of 26 per cent from current levels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit focused on strengthening ties with India, including defense cooperation and trade, amidst a changing geopolitical landscape.
After constantly threatening China with 100% plus tariffs, US President Donald John Trump was all chummy when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping at Gimhae international airport during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday, October 30, 2025.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
US President Donald Trump has claimed he played a key role in defusing tensions between India and Pakistan by threatening to impose massive tariffs, saying the move "stopped the fighting" between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Trump may temper his approach from time to time, but to think that he will change his basic philosophy is delusional, asserts T T Ram Mohan.
India's policy for agriculture trade must move commodity-by-commodity to gain maximum benefits as US President Donald Trump's 26 per cent tariff on exports from the country take effect, said agriculture economist Ashok Gulati in a recent policy paper.
The country's largest listed auto parts company by market capitalisation, Samvardhana Motherson International, reported a better than expected operating performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Though the global passenger vehicle (PV) market is facing multiple headwinds, the company is outperforming on the back of higher content per vehicle and market share gains.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and HCL Technologies were the only gainers. On the other hand, Eternal, Tata Motors' commercial vehicles arm, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Trent, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, and Infosys were among the laggards.
After a year of modest returns, equity investors may anticipate gains of 10-15 per cent in Samvat 2082, which began on October 21. Although valuations have moderated from their peaks a year earlier, they remain above long-term averages, potentially limiting sharp upsides.
'A 100% tariff could cut the Indian film industry's US revenues by 30% to 40%.'
'When Prime Minister Modi met President Trump, they agreed to initiate a bilateral trade dialogue.' 'It makes sense to give these negotiations a chance.'
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