By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian shares inched lower in early trading on Friday, dragged down by information technology companies, as investors remained worried about U.S. tariffs.
The Nifty 50 was down 0.29% at 22,481.75 by 9:48 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.32% to 74,108.62.
Ten of the 13 major sectors declined, while the trend in broader market was mixed, with midcaps trading flat and smallcaps up 0.5%.
The blue-chips rose about 2% over the last two sessions on hopes of some reprieve in U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a drop in oil prices, and bargain hunting after a recent fall.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the 25% tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada, marking another twist in a fluctuating trade policy that has whipsawed the global financial markets.
Trump’s changing stance on tariffs is being viewed by markets seriously as it may indicate he is keen to negotiate deals rather than stick to higher tariffs, said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
However, uncertainty will prevail until clarity emerges on reciprocal tariffs, which will directly impact India, analysts said.
Most Asian markets fell on the day, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan losing 0.4%. [MKTS/GLOB]
Investors are waiting for key labor market data in the U.S. and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, as they look for signs regarding future rate action.
Higher interest rates in the U.S make emerging markets such as India unattractive for foreign investors.
The IT index fell 0.7%. IT companies get a substantial portion of revenue from the U.S.
Conversely, the auto index jumped 0.4% after CLSA said that if India were to eliminate import duty on U.S. cars, it would not have significant impact on Indian passenger car makers.
Among individual stocks, Bharat Electronics gained 2% after winning orders worth 5.77 billion rupees.
($1 = 87.0110 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Sonia Cheema and Varun H K)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
