Sensex Surges 1,400 Points, Nifty Tops 22,800 On Donald Trump’s 90-Day Tariff Pause

India’s benchmark indices opened April 11’s session sharply higher after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause. The BSE Sensex, after giving a gap-up start, surged over 1472.2 points, or 1.99 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 75,319.35. Likewise, Nifty 50 zoomed 475.3 points, or 2.12 per cent, to touch an intraday high of 22,874.45.

The 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs has opened doors for further negotiations between India and the US on their trade agreement.

Trump's announcement, which came on late Tuesday, created a euphoria among investors worldwide. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 7.87 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 12.16 per cent, and the S&P 500 skyrocketed 9.52 per cent. Asian and European markets too mirrored the sentiments the next day. However, India's markets were closed on Thursday, April 10 for Mahavir Jayanti, so they had to wait until today to respond.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said that Trump’s retreat from the reciprocal tariffs was forced by the US bond market where instead of safe-haven buying in US treasuries, there was big selling, pushing the 10-year bond yield up to 4.5 per cent. Vijayakumar believes bond vigilantes forced Trump to retreat.

Tata Steel Top Gainer, Asian Paints Biggest Drag

From Sensex, Tata Steel, Eternal (formerly Zomato), Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, and Bajaj Finserv led the gains, while Asian Paints, Nestle and Axis Bank dragged.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Tata Steel, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Adani Enterprises, Coal India and Trent were the top gainers in early trade, while Asian Paints, Nestle India, Apollo Hospital, HDFC Life, and Axis Bank were the biggest losers.

Metal Stocks Lead Rally

Sector-wise, Nifty Metal gained the most, rising nearly 3.5 per cent, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Pharma, each gaining over 2 per cent. Nifty IT, Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Oil & Gas – all traded over 1 per cent higher. All the major sectoral indices traded higher in early trade. Only Nifty FMCG slacked, however, the index still traded in the green.  

Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced a cut in the repo rate to improve liquidity and support consumption. That’s a direct tailwind for rate-sensitive sectors like autos, FMCG, and real estate.

There’s also an improving sentiment regarding the fourth-quarter results, that it could turn out to be better than the tepid third quarter. That expectation is providing the cushion for investors who are otherwise on edge.