Indian stocks tumbled on Monday as fears of a global trade war and a potential recession in the United States triggered a sharp sell-off across markets.
The Nifty 50 dropped 4.03 percent to 21,982.05 and the BSE Sensex fell 3.86 percent to 72,455.5 by midmorning in Mumbai. Both indices had opened down by nearly 5 percent, marking their steepest intraday declines since March 2020. The benchmarks appeared headed for their worst single-day performance in ten months.
The decline follows a broad market rout sparked by President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping new reciprocal tariffs, which analysts fear could tip the global economy into a slowdown.
“This was expected,” said Sunil Shah, director at Khambatta Securities and a veteran market analyst. “Investors believe that in a trade war, nobody wins. It fuels inflation across the board and slows global GDP growth. Export-oriented economies are especially vulnerable, and if the largest economy—like the U.S.—heads toward recession, the ripple effects will be global.”
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Trump’s tariffs were “larger than expected” and warned they would likely impact both inflation and growth. Powell flagged an increasingly uncertain outlook for the U.S. economy as a result of the trade policies.
The Nasdaq entered bear market territory on Friday, while oil prices and other commodities also plunged, amplifying market volatility around the globe.
