Market Cues Today: Trump’s New Tariffs, India US Trade Talks, Commodity Prices And Other Factors Set To Impact D-Street

Stock Market Cues: The headline indices are likely to open lower, tracking declines in the Gift Nifty on September 26. In the morning hours of September 26, the Gift Nifty opened marginally lower at 24,896.5 levels.

On September 25, the Sensex and Nifty continued to close for the fifth straight session amid concerns regarding US immigration policies and likely profit-booking in sectors such as Auto. The Sensex closed at 81,159.68 down by 555.95 points or 0.68 per cent on the other hand the Nifty 50 finished at 24,890.85 down by 166.05 points or 0.66 per cent.

Stock Market Cues On September 26

D-street is set to react to mixed cues including headwinds like the H1-B Visa fee hike, US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement and potential developments in the India-US trade talks. Fluctuations in gold prices and crude oil prices are also set to impact D-street today:

Trump’s New Tariff Announcement

On September 25, Trump announced tariffs of as much as 100 per cent on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs. The tariffs will come into effect on October 1, 2025. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is likely to be impacted by the announcement as the US is a key geography for the export focused industry.

"Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 per cent Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The US President added that companies that are building pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the US will not be affected by the tariffs.

""IS BUILDING" will be defined as, "breaking ground" and/or "under construction." There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started. Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump added.

Apart from the tariffs on pharma, the US President has also imposed a 50 per cent duty on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. Tariffs of nearly 30 per cent have also been imposed on upholstered furniture and of 25 per cent on heavy trucks.

India-US Trade Talks

Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the media on the sidelines of an event organised by the business daily Financial Express where he stated that India-US trade talks are in their final stage and that a resolution is likely to be reached in the upcoming weeks.

“The talks are in the final stage…and let’s leave this to the wisdom of PM [Narendra Modi] and Commerce Minister [Piyush Goyal]. In a few weeks or so, aspects of this deal will get clearer,” Shah said at the event.

Crude Oil Prices On September 26

On September 26 crude oil prices edged higher as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude surged by $0.25 or 0.38 per cent. On the other hand the price of Brent Crude surged to $69.6 up by $0.18 or 0.26 per cent.

Gold Rate On September 26

On September 26, the price of 24 karat gold was Rs 11,458 per gram, the price of 22 karat gold was around Rs 10,504 per gram and the price of 18 karat gold was Rs 8,597 per gram according to the Goodreturns website.

FII, DII Flows

Foreign institutional investors became net sellers of Indian equities on September 25, making net sale of equities worth Rs 4,995.42 crore. On the other hand Domestic institutional investors net purchased equities worth Rs 5,103.01 crore.

Asian Indices Trade Mixed On September 26

In the morning hours of September 26, all Asian indices traded under pressure amid the imposition of a fresh round of tariffs. The Nikkei 225 declined 0.23 per cent, the Hang Seng slipped 0.63 per cent in early hours of trade. On the other hand the Shanghai Composite and the KOSPI fell 0.05 per cent and 2.46 per cent respectively at the time of writing.

US Market Indices

Major Wall Street indices finished the session with declines on September 25 as the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.5 per cent each and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.38 per cent.