Black Monday for Indian stock market: Reliance to HDFC Bank — top draggers that pulled down Nifty 50, Sensex today

Stock market today: The Indian stock market sold off sharply on Monday, April 7, mirroring last week's rout on Wall Street, as escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies spooked investors, triggering a swift flight from riskier assets amid growing fears of a global recession.

The Nifty 50 opened with a 1,146-point cut, or 5% down, at 21,758 — marking its biggest intraday loss since March 2020. Its peer, the Sensex, also opened with a sharp decline of 5.19%, at 71,449.

The broader markets, which are usually highly sensitive to volatile conditions, came under even more significant selling pressure, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index tumbling 7.26% to the day's low, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index plummeted even more sharply by 10.15%.

All 50 constituents of the Nifty were trading with heavy losses, with Trent emerging as the top loser, slumping 15%. It was followed by other Tata Group stocks such as Tata Steel and Tata Motors, which slid 10% and 8.4%, respectively.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT emerged as the worst casualty amid growing fears of a looming recession in the U.S. economy. The Nifty IT index crashed another 7% in today’s trade, following a 9% decline last week. Meanwhile, the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq entered bear market territory last week.

Metal stocks also witnessed heavy selling pressure as rising trade tensions fueled fears of a potential decline in base metal prices. This triggered a sharp crash of over 9% in stocks like Lloyds Metals & Energy, Hindalco Industries, NALCO, and SAIL.

Other metal stocks were also trading with losses ranging between 3% and 8% in today’s session.

Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, 3 other stocks contribute 37% to Nifty 50's fall

The broader sell-off has dragged Indian markets into their worst phase since the Covid-19 pandemic, with steep declines in top large-cap stocks accounting for 37% of today’s Nifty 50 crash.

As of 10:00 A.M., the Nifty 50 was down 902 points, with HDFC Bank alone contributing 88 points to the fall as the stock declined 3%. Reliance Industries followed closely, shaving off 85 points, while ICICI Bank, Infosys, and Larsen & Toubro collectively pulled the index down by another 180 points.

In total, these five heavyweight stocks have accounted for roughly 37% of the Nifty 50’s losses today.

Escalating tariffs push US economy closer to recession cliff

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on 180 countries, intensifying the global stock market rout. US markets bore the brunt of the sell-off, as fears mounted that the higher duties could hurt the American economy more than others and potentially push the country into a recession.

Trump’s aggressive trade actions, taken despite repeated recession warnings from economists, have triggered retaliatory measures from affected countries.

China hit back with a matching 34% tariff on U.S. goods, following Trump’s decision to impose a similar 34% duty on Beijing. The tit-for-tat escalation between the world’s two largest economies has sent shockwaves through global markets last week, sparking fears that this tariff war could lead to a severe global economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, Trump’s trade actions—framed as efforts to make American citizens wealthier—are not being viewed in the same light by consumers. Instead, many are increasingly concerned that the higher duties will force them to pay more for the same products they bought last year.

This growing anxiety is prompting households to cut back on spending and save more, further amplifying fears among investors about a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy, where consumption remains the backbone of GDP growth.

Meanwhile, the reciprocal tariffs and counter measures has led economists to cut global growth projections for 2025 and propels them increases the odds of US slipping into recession in 2025.

Investment bank J.P. Morgan estimated a 60% chance of the global economy entering a recession by year-end, up from 40% previously.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.