Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Indian stock markets, where we track the day's trade after a US-India deal cut US reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports and early indicators pointed to a higher open.
The GIFT Nifty surges over 1% or nearly 300 points to trade at 26,155.00 as of 8:46 am, signalling a gap-up open for the Nifty 50.
Markets are tracking the trade deal between India and the United States that lowers reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports to 18% from 25%. The change takes effect immediately. India had earlier faced total tariffs of 50%, including a 25% penalty linked to buying Russian oil. The US Embassy confirmed the overall tariff rate is now 18%.
Indian equities closed higher on Monday after declining at the open. The Nifty and Sensex fell nearly 0.60% during the day but rose more than 1% to end in green and snap a two-day fall. The Nifty ended up 262.95 points, or 1.06%, at 25,088.40. The Sensex ended up 909.11 points, or 1.13%, at 81,632.05.
The trade shift follows negotiations that began in early 2025, derailed after the United States imposed tariffs as high as 50% on Indian imports in August, and resumed in October. The latest move puts tariffs, trade commitments and oil-related measures at the centre of today's market focus.
President Donald Trump linked the deal to a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump said India would move forward to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to zero. He also said Modi committed to “Buy American” at a higher level, including more than $500 billion of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other products.
Trump also said Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to buy more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. He said they discussed ending the war in Ukraine. Modi confirmed the deal in a post on X. He said Made in India products will face a reduced tariff of 18% and thanked Trump for the announcement. He said cooperation between the two countries would benefit their people and create opportunities for cooperation.
