MUMBAI: The benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent on Friday, marking their sixth consecutive day of decline. Heavy selling impacted pharma and IT shares after US President Donald Trump announced 100 per cent duties on pharmaceutical drugs effective from October 1.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 733.22 points, or 0.90 per cent, settling at a three-week low of 80,426.46. Throughout the trading session, it witnessed a drop of 827.27 points, touching a low of 80,332.41.
The 50-share NSE Nifty also faced significant losses, tumbling 236.15 points, or 0.95 per cent, to end at an over three-week low of 24,654.70. The index has experienced a continuous decline since September 19, falling over 3 per cent in six straight sessions. Over this period, the Sensex plunged by 2,587.50 points, accounting for a 3.16 per cent drop.
Investor sentiment soured mostly due to the plummet in pharma shares, which caused the BSE Healthcare index to drop by 2.14 per cent. Notably, shares of Wockhardt plunged 9.4 per cent following the announcement.
On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated, “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America.” He further explained that the definition of “IS BUILDING” would entail any plant that has broken ground or is under construction.
Among the top Sensex firms, several companies including Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and HCL Technologies took substantial hits.
Conversely, some firms bucked the trend, with Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, ITC, and Reliance Industries experiencing gains amidst the market turmoil.
“Indian equities ended sharply lower on Friday in a broad-based sell-off after the US announced a steep 100% tariff on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical products effective October 1. This unexpected move rattled already fragile investor sentiment, compounded by the recent hike in H-1B visa fees that triggered heavy selling in IT counters earlier this week,” stated Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
Both IT and healthcare stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, leading to declines in the broader indices as investors rushed to reassess earnings outlooks and export growth prospects.
Meanwhile, Asian markets displayed a negative trend, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all closing significantly lower.
In contrast, equity markets in Europe traded positively, while US markets had ended lower the previous day.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,995.42 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
The global oil benchmark Brent crude saw a minor decline of 0.27 per cent, trading at USD 69.23 a barrel.
As a reminder, the Sensex on Thursday had already plunged 555.95 points, or 0.68 per cent, settling at 81,159.68, while the Nifty fell by 166.05 points, or 0.66 per cent, to reach 24,890.85.
