Indian Stock Market Closes in Red on Black Monday; Nifty at 22,161, Sensex Down 2,227, Worst Since June 2024

On Monday, India's stock indices, the Sensex and Nifty 50, experienced sharp declines, both ending the day down by 3%. With the exception of Zomato and Hindustan Unilever, all Nifty 50 stocks saw a drop in their closing prices. Trent, Tata Steel, and JSW Steel were among the hardest hit, facing the biggest losses. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, surged by 66%, indicating that the market is likely to remain highly volatile in the near future.

HUL, Zomato Top Gainers of April 7; Trent, Tata Steel Top Losers on Monday

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Zomato stocks were the biggest Nifty gainers, while Trent, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) were the biggest losers. Every sectoral indicator finished lower, with the Metal index down 7%, the Realty indicator up 6%, and the media, PSU Bank, auto, energy, and IT sectors down 3-4%. The BSE Smallcap and Midcap indices saw declines of 4.5 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Nifty 50's Worst Day Since June 2024

Following the worldwide market tremors caused by U.S. President Trump's 'Liberation Day' on April 2, the Nifty 50 index plummeted by more than 1,000 points in trading on April 7. The Nifty-50 is at its lowest point in ten months, and there are still concerns that the global recession might wipe out a staggering Rs 16 lakh crore in market value.

Since the Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4, 2024, this session has seen the largest one-day decline in the domestic benchmark index. The market value has plummeted by an astounding Rs 16 lakh crore due to persistent concerns about a worldwide recession. This is the biggest intraday decline since June 2024.

When the election result shocked the markets, the Nifty fell 6% in a single day on June 4, 2024, to a low of 21,281. But for the next three months, the index recovered well and reached a record high of 26,277. However, since that peak, it has steadily declined, currently down about 17%.

The stock market experienced a crash on March 23, 2020, which resulted in a precipitous 13% decline in a single day. Just before India declared a nationwide lockdown because of the Covid-19 outbreak, this enormous fall took place. Fear seized the market, and during that drop, the Nifty index fell to its lowest level of 7,511. But once investors restored confidence and started repurchasing stocks, the market swiftly recovered, beginning the current bull market.

Why are stock markets falling?

In addition to starting a trade war with retaliatory nations like China, U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of retaliatory tariffs on more than 180 nations triggered the stock market meltdown and raised fears of a worldwide economic downturn, particularly a U.S. recession. Investor sentiment was affected by this.

How are global stock markets reacting to the Trump Tariff?

Wall Street saw a sharp drop last week, and Asian markets have plummeted. South Korea fell 5% and Japan's Nikkei fell 7.8% to its lowest level since late 2023. In addition to the roughly $6 trillion in market losses from last week, S&P 500 futures fell by almost 5% in erratic trading, while Nasdaq futures fell by 5.7%. Europe was also hit hard, with Germany's Dax down 9.4% and the broad Stoxx 600 down 5.3%.