The benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, tumbled on Tuesday, breaking a seven-day rally as selling in banking and energy stocks pushed the markets into the red. The decline is attributed to broader market consolidation, driven by domestic selling, March-end closing pressures, and caution ahead of key economic events. The Nifty settled below the 23,500 level after hitting the day's high of 23,736.50 in early trade.

Analysts view this correction as a natural breather after an extended rally rather than a direct reaction to tariff concerns. Investors remain watchful ahead of the April 2 tariff deadline in the US and the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upcoming policy decision on April 9, both of which could shape market sentiment in the coming days.

Despite the dip, positive macroeconomic trends continue to support the market. A weaker dollar index, rupee appreciation, and slowing foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows have been encouraging signs this month. While tariff-related uncertainty has kept investors on edge, it is not expected to pose a significant threat to India's broader economic or market stability.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 728.69 points or 0.93% to 77,288.50. The Nifty 50 index fell 181.80 points or 0.77% to 23,486.85. In the past seven sessions, the Sensex and the Nifty rose 5.67% and 5.68%, respectively.

Bajaj Finance (down 2.28%), Infosys (down 2.06%), Reliance Industries (down 1%), HDFC Bank (down 0.85%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.67%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.67% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.45%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 919 shares rose and 3,115 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.21% to 13.47.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper grew 1.18% to 6.711 as compared with the previous close of 6.740.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.6975 compared with its close of 85.7250 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 April 2025 settlement rose 0.08% to Rs 87,627.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 104.20.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.53% to 4.331.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement added 0.42 cents or 0.58% to $73.44 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European shares declined on Wednesday as investors awaited the Spring Statement from U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves. Reeves is expected to announce billions of pounds in spending cuts to address a budget shortfall caused by the rise in borrowing costs since her first fiscal plan was released last fall.

The U.K.'s inflation rate fell slightly to 2.8% in February, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics. Core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose by 3.5% in February, down from 3.7% in January.

Most Asian stocks ended higher as concerns eased over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's planned trade tariffs.

The Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda warned of further interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, Japan's corporate services price index'a key measure of producer inflation'came in slightly cooler than expected for February but remained sticky at 3%, data showed on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, U.S. indices advanced on Tuesday, driven primarily by gains in heavyweight technology stocks. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to 5,776.62, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.5% to 18,271.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher to 42,587.50, marking a third consecutive day of gains for all three indexes.

Tesla Inc climbed over 3% despite data showing a second straight month of declining European sales. Meanwhile, GameStop Corp surged 8% in after-hours trading following its management's approval of a plan to invest excess cash in Bitcoin.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 92.9, down from an upwardly revised 100.1 in the prior month amid ongoing concerns about a tariff-induced slowdown.

Trump's proposed tariffs remained in focus ahead of an April 2 announcement on additional trade measures. Reports indicating that the tariffs may be less severe than initially feared helped boost Wall Street sentiment this week. However, the 47th President reiterated his stance on imposing duties on automobile imports and signaled upcoming tariffs on lumber and semiconductors. Next week, he is expected to unveil reciprocal tariffs on around 15 major U.S. trading partners, though the full scope and impact remain uncertain.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Siemens rose 5.82% after the company announced that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the company's demerger, paving the way for Siemens Energy India to operate as a separate entity. As part of the restructuring, Siemens shareholders will receive one share of Siemens Energy India for each Siemens share they hold as of the record date, set for April 7, 2025.

Food delivery giants Zomato (-3.10%) and Swiggy (-4.12%) slipped after a foreign brokerage downgraded their ratings and slashed price targets for both companies. Zomato was downgraded to neutral from buy, with its price target lowered to Rs 250 from the earlier Rs 300. Swiggy faced a double downgrade to underperform from its previous buy rating, with its price target reduced to Rs 325 from Rs 420.

Trent surged 2.6% after the company announced the expansion of its Westside retail chain with new store openings in Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Chennai. With these additions, Westside's total store count has reached 244.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) tumbled 4.12%. The company said that it has raised Rs 910.37 crore through the issuance of privately placed subordinated tier-II bonds for a 10-year tenor at an annual coupon rate of 7.74%.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shed 0.78%. The company announced that its hydrocarbon business, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH), has secured its largest-ever Ultra-Mega offshore contract from QatarEnergy LNG for the North Field Production Sustainability Offshore Compression Project.

RPP Infra Projects shed 0.34%. The company announced that it has entered into an agreement worth Rs 75 crore to acquire 120 acres of land in proximity to the proposed new Chennai Airport.

Bajaj Steel Industries declined 2.17%. The company said that it has received an export order worth about Rs 43 crore ($5.03 million) from an international client.

Atishay hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company secured an order worth Rs 29.60 lakh for providing cloud hosting services from the Directorate of Cooperation, Himachal Pradesh.

Welspun Enterprises fell 1.09%. The company informed that its material subsidiary, Welspun Michigan Engineers (WMEL), along with its joint venture with Aaradhyaa & Co (WMEL-ANC JV), has bagged an order worth Rs 328.12 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Apcotex Industries tumbled 3.50% after the company informed that Sachin Karwa, chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, has tendered his resignation to pursue opportunities outside the organization.

NCC rallied 1.93% after the firm secured two advance work orders worth Rs 10,804.56 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) for the middle-mile network of BharatNet in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Jindal Stainless rose 0.40%. The company's board approved the acquisition of a 5.03% stake in Mynd Solutions, a leading RBI-regulated TReDS (Trade Receivables Electronic Discounting System) and supply chain financing platform. The acquisition is valued at Rs 102.7 crore.

Mukka Proteins declined 2.29%. The company said it acquired a 51% majority stake in FABBCO Bio Cycle and Bio Protein Technology. The investment, valued at Rs 6 crore, is intended to strengthen Mukka Proteins (MPL)'s position in the alternative feed sector and complement its existing insect protein venture, Ento Proteins.

Waaree Renewable Technologies fell 0.22%. The company announced that it has received a letter of award (LoA) worth Rs 232.30 crore from Waaree Energies for a solar power project.

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