India Metal Stocks Lead Sensex Slump on Trump's Import Tariffs

(Bloomberg) -- India's benchmark equity index reopened after a local holiday Friday and clocked its steepest decline in over three weeks as investors weighed the potential impact of America's plans to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell for a fourth session, slipping 0.9 percent to 33,746.78 in Mumbai, in line with most Asian peers. This after the measure ended February with its worst monthly performance in two years. Sixteen of the 19 sectoral indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, led by a gauge of metal companies which tumbled to a more than two-month low. Tata Motors Ltd. and Tata Steel Ltd. were among the worst performers on the benchmark index.

“The U.S. measures threaten to impact margins of metal companies,” said A. K. Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd. “The trend is weak and a drop below 10,275 on the Nifty may see it accumulating further losses.” The NSE Nifty 50 Index was down 1 percent at 10,358.85.

U.S President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on steel and aluminum to protect the domestic industries risks igniting a global trade war. The order, due to be formally signed this week, is part of his plan to counter what he says are decades of unfair trade practices and ill-advised trade agreements that have robbed the U.S. of revenue and jobs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nupur Acharya in Mumbai at nacharya7@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Beth Mellor

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