Agencies mumbai

The stock markets ended lower on Wednesday, as investor sentiment remained cautious due to US President Donald Trump's firm stand on the upcoming tariff deadline. After the initial euphoria, the BSE Sensex later lost momentum and ended 287.60 points lower at 83,409.69. During the day, it dropped 546.52 points to 83,150.77.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 88.40 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 25,453.40. From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Bharat Electronics and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major laggards. However, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, and Trent were the biggest gainers. “Mixed global cues, particularly ahead of the impending tariff deadline, are driving investor caution. Market attention is gradually shifting to crucial Q1 earnings, which have high expectations. 

“Underlying trends such as robust macroeconomic fundamentals and increased government expenditure continue to support market resilience. However, being at the breach level of the recent rally, a cautiousness is expected to continue in the near term," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.  

“There are no indications yet of a strong rebound in earnings. GST collections data for June indicates sluggish growth. Auto sales numbers for June also indicates subdued sales. There is no room for the market to sustain the upward momentum given the high valuations. A surprise element is the resilience of the US economy and corporate earnings, which in turn is imparting resilience to the US market, despite the tariffs.

The Fed chief Powell has indicated that there is no room for a rate cut immediately. This will rein-in the enthusiasm of the bulls,” said veteran investment strategist Dr VK Vijayakumar. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index settled lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended higher.