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Informist, Friday, Mar. 28, 2025                                        Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: JLR, Bharat Forge, Sona BLW at risk from US tariff, says Nomura

MUMBAI--1200 IST--Brokerage Nomura on Friday said the 25% tariff imposed by the US on imported cars and car parts posed "significant downside" for some Indian players, particularly Tata Motors' luxury car subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, and Bharat Forge. In the financial year 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), these three companies saw anywhere between 20% and 40% of their revenues coming from the US market, Nomura said. 

"The immediate impact of tariffs could lead to significant price hikes by OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers), as they will take time to explore alternatives. They may have an impact on demand as well," Nomura said. It warned about a potential risk that the reciprocal tariffs may apply on top of the already announced tariffs. Further, any rise in tariffs across other consumer products may affect inflation, raise interest rates and impact US consumer sentiment, it added. 

According to statistics cited by Nomura, JLR saw its volume exposure to the US market increase to 33% in the first nine months of FY25. JLR cars are manufactured in the UK, barring the Defender which is manufactured in the European Union. Meanwhile, among automobile parts suppliers, a substantial 43% of Sona BLW's revenue came from the US during Apr-Dec. About 28% of Bharat Forge's consolidated revenue and 37% of its standalone revenue originated in the US during the same period. 

Nomura pointed out that Samvardhana Motherson is also among major suppliers of automobile parts with considerable exposure to the US market. However, the company has a manufacturing facility in the US where production could be ramped up to reduce tariff exposure, it said.

At 1438 IST, shares of Tata Motors traded at INR 675.65 on the National Stock Exchange, up 1.1%. Shares of Bharat Forge were up 1.4% at INR 1,175.55, while those of Sona BLW were down 1.1% at INR 462.30.  (Shakshi Jain)

Equity Alert: Most Asian indices down; Japan, South Korea markets worst hit

MUMBAI--1356 IST--Most indices in the Asian region ended in the red Friday as tariffs on automobile imports by the US led to fall in automobile stocks across markets. Equities in Japan and South Korea were the worst hit as their automobile companies are major suppliers of cars to the US.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8% and was down for the second straight session. The TOPIX First Section declined nearly 2%. Japan's automobiles made up 28% of the country's total exports to the US in 2024, according to Ministry of Finance data as reported by Reuters. While criticising the US tariff on cars, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament that "we're putting all options on the table in considering the most effective response."

Further, Tokyo's higher-than-expected inflation in March has raised worries that Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting in May. "We find that price pressures are becoming more broadly based," said Min Joo Kang, economist at ING, as quoted by Dow Jones. "With upside inflation risks growing, the odds of a BOJ's (Bank of Japan) rate reaction increase," the economist adds. Inflation in Tokyo rose 2.4% on year in March against expectations of a 2.2% rise.

South Korea's Kospi fell 1.9% as investors braced for a hit from tariffs. Cars and automobile parts make up 14% of South Korea's exports and nearly half of these exports go to the US, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.8% as traders await clarity on Trump's tariff plans on China. Trump Wednesday said he may reduce tariffs levied on China if TikTok's parent company ByteDance sells its US operations.

Singapore's Straits Times Index hit a record high, crossing the 4000 mark briefly for the first time. But, the index soon lost gains and it was down 0.2% at 1346 IST. Among the gainers, Australia's S&P ASX 200 Index rose 0.2%.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1354 IST:

(Eric Rasquinha)

Equity Alert: Indices remain lower; auto, IT stocks among worst hit

MUMBAI--1345 IST--Benchmark indices remained lower, with some information technology and automobile stocks being the worst hit in the Nifty 50. Together, stocks in these sectors dragged the 50-stock index down by almost 0.3%. Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Maruti Suzuki India were down 2-3%. Auto stocks were down due to concerns regarding US tariffs.

At 1339 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23511.40 points, down 80.55 points or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77377.80 points, down 228.63 points or 0.3%. Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Jio Financial Services, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were up 2-3% and were the top gainers in the Nifty 50. Broader market indices were mixed. Nearly 54% of the stocks trading on the NSE were in red, and only 43% of them were up.

Bank stocks were mixed, with HDFC Bank among the biggest laggards in the Nifty 50. Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank were the main stocks responsible for capping the fall in the index. Large banks are in a better position than smaller competitors due to strong deposit franchise, low concentration risk, and diversified customer base, Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers said in a research report. "We believe improving liquidity will translate to better credit growth from H2FY26 (second half of FY26)," the report said. The brokerage said unsecured lending is likely to pick up for large banks.

Among stocks, Hindustan Aeronautics was up over 2% after the company late Thursday said the value of one of its contract to supply light combat aircraft Mk1 has been increased to INR 65.42 billion from INR 59.89 billion. Tata Consumer Products rose 3% due to positive sentiment as the company's foods business is performing well and early signs of double-digit growth for this business in the March quarter are visible, a research analyst at a domestic brokerage said.

On the other hand, Aegis Logistics, Indian Overseas Bank, and Brainbees Solutions were down 5-8% and were the worst hit in the Nifty 500 index.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Mkt falls more; sentiment hit as NSE defers F&O expiry decision

MUMBAI--1316 IST--Headline indices extended early losses dragged down by a fall in most heavyweight stocks. The expiry day fiasco of the equity derivatives contracts on the NSE has triggered some selling pressure in the market, Brijesh Ail, head of technical and derivatives at IDBI Capital Markets & Securities, said. The call writing will be more aggressive due to this change in the expiry day, he said.

Currently, the expiry day for futures and options contracts on the NSE is Thursday, while contracts on the BSE expire on Tuesday. NSE had earlier changed the expiry of its derivatives contracts to Monday with effect from Apr. 3. However, SEBI late Thursday proposed to keep either Tuesday or Thursday as the expiry day for NSE contracts. Following this, NSE on Friday deferred its earlier decision.

These changes are expected to cause a shift in the volumes to BSE, but this shift will be temporary, Ail said. Shares of BSE rose over 16% on Friday. So far in the day, nearly 14 million of its shares have changed hands on the NSE, nearly three times higher than 5 million shares traded during the same period on Thursday.

At 1303 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23494.30 points, down 97.65 points or 0.4%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77280.86 points, down 325.57 points or 0.4%. On the other hand, broader market indices were mixed. The Nifty mid-cap indices were down 0.2-0.1% while the Nifty small-cap ones were slightly flat. 

The Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Energy indices were the only gainers among sectoral indices, up 0.1-0.6%. Nifty Media was the worst-hit sectoral index, down nearly 2%.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: BSE rises over 17% after SEBI proposal on weekly F&O expiry

MUMBAI--1311 IST--Shares of BSE rose more than 17% to an over one-month high of INR 5,519 Friday after SEBI proposed that exchanges keep either Tuesday or Thursday as the expiry day for all equity derivatives contracts. Following this, BSE's unlisted peer NSE deferred its decision to change the expiry day of its index and stock derivatives contracts to Monday from Thursday.

Currently, derivatives contracts of NSE expire on Thursday and those of BSE expire on Tuesday. BSE's share price fell sharply recently after NSE announced that it will move its derivatives expiry to Monday from Thursday, effective Apr. 1. If the day of expiry for contracts on NSE is shifted to Monday, then traders will shift to NSE contracts from BSE, a research associate at a domestic broking firm said. 

As NSE is expected to revert to Thursday as the expiry day for its futures and options contracts, it could reduce concerns about BSE's loss of market share and may also decrease an estimated 12% impact on its earnings per share, ET Now reported, citing Jefferies. The broking firm has maintained its "hold" rating on BSE, with a target price of INR 5,250. It said the stock has retraced most of its fall, while lower regulatory risks and better markets could help in a re-rating. The global brokerage awaits clarity on open interest limits, but sees a lower impact on the BSE, media reports said.

At 1311 IST, shares of BSE were at INR 5,420.80 on the NSE, up 16%. The stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22 times 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and 39.76 times FY27. So far Friday, over 14 million shares of the company have changed hands on the NSE against 5.8 million shares traded during the same period Thursday.

Of the three brokerage reports available on the stock with Informist, Nuvama Institutional Equities has a "buy" recommendation, with a target price of INR 5,160. The stock is already trading 7% above this target price. HDFC Securities has a "reduce", and Motilal Oswal Financial Services has a "neutral" recommendation on the stock. (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Samvardhana Motherson up; US tariffs may not have major impact 

MUMBAI--1225 IST--Shares of Samvardhana Motherson rose 4% to an over one-month high of INR 137.18. Post market hours Thursday, the company said the tariffs announced by the US may not have a major impact on its financial performance. This is because a significant part of the company's products sold in the US are either manufactured in the US or comply with US-Mexico-Canada agreement, the company had said in an exchange filing.

The company said this after US President Donald Trump Wednesday announced 25% tariffs on cars and car parts manufactured outside the US. The company argued that the order may see changes and the impact will depend on any inclusions or exclusions that may be announced later.

At 1220 IST, shares of the automotive components manufacturer traded at INR 132.90 on the NSE, up nearly 1%. So far Friday, 11.39 million shares have changed hands on NSE, lower than 28.17 million shares traded till the same time Thursday.

Of the 11 research reports on the stock available with Informist, 10 have a 'buy' or equivalent rating and one has a 'reduce' rating. Of the brokerages with 'buy' recommendations, Religare Broking has the highest target price of INR 226 and HDFC Securities has the lowest target price of INR 151.  (Akshita Kumar)

Equity Alert: Tata Consumer touches over 1-mo high on positive sentiment

MUMBAI--1135 IST--Shares of Tata Consumer Products rose over 4% to an over 1-month high of INR 1,015. The stock climbed amid a positive outlook on its earnings growth for the March quarter. At 1134 IST, its shares were at INR 1,004.80, up 3.2%.  

The company's foods business is performing well and early signs of double-digit growth for this business in the March quarter are visible, a research analyst, tracking the fast-moving consumer products segment at a domestic broking firm, said. The company's recent acquisition of Capital Foods and Organic India bodes well for the foods business' sales, he said. As per the analyst, improved sales by Tata Consumer is expected as the company implemented price hikes in the last quarter, which should boost realisations.

The recent market correction has contributed to the positive sentiment around the stock in the past few days. It has climbed nearly 15% from its 52-week low on Dec. 20, though still remains 19% below its 52-week high. With the stock's valuations now at an attractive level, the analyst expects stronger top line growth in the March quarter. As a result, the analyst maintains a 'buy' rating on the stock.

So far on the NSE, around 1.03 million shares of the company have changed hands, surpassing the 742,354 shares changing traded by the same time Thursday. All 14 brokerage research reports on the company available with Informist have a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock with an average target of INR 1,200. Of these, Elara Securities has the lowest target price of INR 1,060, while Religare Broking has the highest target price of INR 1,360.  (Noopur Bhandiwad)

Equity Alert: Mkt falls slightly; Jio Fincl Svcs, Zomato make Nifty 50 debut

MUMBAI--1150 IST--Benchmark indices fell slightly as rise in oil and gas, fast-moving consumer goods, and some heavyweight bank stocks were nullified by losses in information technology stocks such as Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies, all down 1-2%. IT stocks dragged the index down by 0.1%. HDFC Bank was another major laggard, down almost 1% and pulling the 50-stock index lower by 0.1%. 

At 1145 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23569.55 points, down 22.40 points or 0.1%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77522.68 points, down 83.75 points or 0.1%. As the previously announced rejig of the indices took effect Friday, Jio Financial Services and Zomato made their debut in the benchmark Nifty 50, while Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Britannia Industries dropped down into the Nifty 100. Jio Financial Services was up over 2% and was one of the top gainers in the index, and Zomato also traded slightly higher. Jio Financial Services had Thursday invested INR 10 billion in its wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Finance through allotment of equity shares.

The Nifty 50 is expected to face resistance at 23700-23800 points, and may take support at 23400 points, Sameet Chavan, head research of technical and derivative at Angel One, said in a note. "This support level (23400 points) is expected to mitigate any downward pressure and provide a buffer against potential declines in the near future. Thus, maintaining above this support is essential for sustaining an upward trend and limiting significant pullbacks," Chavan said. 

Among specific stocks, Bharat Heavy Electricals rose nearly 3% after the company won an order worth INR 118 billion from the Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Co. Shree Cement was up nearly 3% after global brokerage Nomura Institutional Equities upgraded its rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral', raising the target price to INR 34,000 from INR 28,000.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: ONGC up 5%; Jefferies keeps 'buy' rtg with INR 375 target price

MUMBAI--1059 IST--Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. rose nearly 5% to an intra-day high of INR 252.99, its highest level since Feb. 7. According to several media reports, global brokerage Jefferies has maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 375, an upside of nearly 49% from its current price of INR 252.33 on the NSE. 

The company expects a 10-12% compounded annual growth rate in production over 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to FY30 on the back of strong growth at Mumbai High, the country's largest oilfield in the Arabian Sea. "Stock is discounting $55 per barrel crude, making risk reward favourable," citing Jefferies, Zee Business reported.

The brokerage said the UK-based BP's success at Iraq's Rumalia Oil Field also anchors ONGC's outlook. The British oil and gas major managed a 40% growth in production in a similar geological reservoir. Additionally, reforms in the pricing of crude oil and natural gas also support the brokerages estimates for a 14% compounded annual growth rate for the company's earnings per share between FY25 and FY27.

Late Thursday, Business Standard, citing unnamed sources, reported that Saudi Aramco is in discussions to invest in two planned refineries in India -- Bharat Petroleum Corp.'s planned refinery in Andhra Pradesh and a proposed ONGC refinery in Gujarat. While ONGC's plans for the Gujarat refinery are at a nascent stage, BPCL's chairman had said in December that it aimed to invest $11 billion in its Andhra Pradesh refinery and petrochemical project, as per the report.

Of the 12 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, nine have a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock, one has a 'neutral' rating, while two have a 'sell' or equivalent rating. Of brokerages with a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock, Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers has the highest target price of INR 405. At 1052 IST, 8.31 million shares of the company were traded on the NSE, sharply higher than the 2.28 million shares traded till the same time Thursday.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Mkt recovers slightly, seen moving in small range Friday

MUMBAI--1058 IST--Benchmark indices recovered slightly from their initial fall Friday due to gains in select fast-moving consumer goods stocks and index heavyweight Reliance Industries. However, weakness in select information technology stocks and a sharp fall in Mahindra & Mahindra kept the gains limited on the last trading day of the current financial year. There are concerns about more tariffs by US President Donald Trump.

"The Nifty 50 witnessed a sharp upmove of nearly 7% in just seven trading sessions. This kind of sharp upmove is generally followed by a consolidation or a rangebound movement," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives research at Globe Capital Market, said. Kumar does not expect any big move in Friday's trading session due to the current chart structure.

At 1042 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23627.65 points, up 35.70 points or 0.2% and the BSE Sensex was at 77678.79 points, up 72.36 points or 0.1%. The intra-day support for the Nifty 50 is seen at 23400-23350 points and resistances is pegged at 23650-23735 points. Broader market indices were in the green since the start of the session. Nifty mid-cap indices and Nifty small-cap indices were up over 1% each.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra were down more than 3%, and were among the worst hit in the Nifty 50 index. Shares of a few large-cap information technology companies such as Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services fell 1-2%. The IT sector has 13.15% weightage in the Nifty 50 index. The Nifty IT index was down 1%, and was among the worst hit sectoral indices.

Shares of BSE rose nearly over 16% and were among the top gainers in the Nifty 200 index. The stock surged after the Securities and Exchange Board of India Thursday proposed that expiry days of all equity derivatives contracts of a stock exchange to be uniformly limited to either Tuesday or Thursday. This is to space out expiry days between exchanges and avoid fixing of the first or the last day of week as expiry day. "I think this move will provide more scope for BSE or new exchanges entering derivatives segment," Kumar said.

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. were up over 4% after media reports said that brokerage Jefferies has maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock and set the target price at INR 375. Shares of many FMCG players such as Tata Consumer Products, Britannia Industries, Hindustan Unilever, and Nestle India were up 1-3% each.  (Akshita Kumar)

Equity Alert: Indices slightly down amid weak global cues; BSE surges 11%

MUMBAI--0939 IST--Benchmark indices fell in early trade amid weak cues from global markets, which continued their decline after US President Donald Trump announced fresh tariffs on car imports. Investors turned to fast-moving consumer goods companies, but those gains were offset by selling in Mahindra & Mahindra, and select information technology companies.

Automobile component makers, which have a part of their sales coming from the US, recovered slightly from the hit taken post the tariff announcement on Thursday. Stocks such as Samvardhana Motherson International, Bharat Forge, and Tata Motors rose 1-2%. Brokerage Nomura said these component makers who are dependent on the US for sales would likely raise prices to offset the impact of the recent 25% tariff announced by the US.

The brokerage said Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, and Bharat Forge are at a significant risk due to the tariff. However, Samvardhana Motherson, which has about 18% of revenue coming from the US, may be able to reduce some impact by increasing production at its manufacturing facility in the US, Nomura said.

Information technology stocks were down amid worries that the tariffs by the US may hurt economic growth. Shares of Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies fell 1-2%. Owing to this, at 0937 IST, the Nifty 50 and Sensex were down 0.3% each at 23517.30 and 77354.93 points, respectively. 

Shares of BSE surged over 11% to intraday high of INR 5,232.80 after the Securities and Exchange Board of India released a consultation paper Thursday proposing to limit expiry days of equity derivative contracts to either Tuesday or Thursday. This pushed the National Stock Exhange to shelve their plans of changing expiry day to Monday from Thursday. Jefferies said SEBI's paper could reduce concerns around impact on BSE's market share and earnings per share, according to a post by ETNow on X. The brokerage has a 'hold' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 5,250.  (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Emkay ups Maruti Suzuki rtg to 'buy', target price at INR 13,500

MUMBAI--0826 IST--Emkay Global Financial Services has upgraded its rating on Maruti Suzuki India to 'buy' from 'add' and has raised its target price by 5.5% to INR 13,500 despite a muted near-term outlook for the passenger vehicles industry. In a segment where new launches historically drive volume growth, Maruti Suzuki's launch cycle is seen turning positive in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), compared to a muted launch pipeline for the overall industry. On Thursday, the stock ended 0.1% up at INR 11,721.95 on the NSE, which implies that the new target price has a potential upside of over 15%.

The company has launches of two major internal combustion engine sports utility vehicles coming up--a five-seater likely in September, and a seven-seater likely in January, the brokerage said. The two SUVs may have strong volumes of 18,000-20,000 per month, with Emkay factoring in a volume of 12,000 cars per month. The company had also recently launched its first ever electric SUV, E-Vitara.

The positive launch cycle coincides with early signs of improvement in the small cars segment, which grew 2% in Dec-Jan after almost three years of decline, Emkay said. Recent tax cuts and the 8th Pay Commission may also boost consumption. "MSIL (Maruti Suzuki India) would be an outright beneficiary of small car recovery owing to its lion's share in the segment," Emkay said. The company has a 67% share in the segment till date in FY25. However, the sustenance of such improvements for the company needs to be monitored, the brokerage said. 

Emkay is also positive about the company's aggressive steps for long-term growth, such as doubling capacity by 2030, launching nine models by 2028, ambitions to reclaim a 50% market share, and targeting three times higher exports by 2030. The company is also working on battery electric vehicles, collaborating on a common electric vehicle platform with other Japanese players to ensure cost efficiencies.

Emkay said it expects the company's volumes to grow by an 8% compounded annual growth rate during FY25-FY27, with margins improving to 12.5% by FY27 from 11.6% in the December quarter. This improvement in margins is due to the company having a higher share of SUVs. The brokerage also estimates the company's earnings per share growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 13%. The stock currently trades at an attractive valuation of 21 times the brokerage's estimates for the company's price-to-earnings ratio in FY27, Emkay said. (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Mkt seen in tight range; gains seen capped on US tariff worries

MUMBAI--0823 IST--Though the Indian stock market managed to outperform most of its global peers Thursday, analysts expect it to move in a tight range Friday. It is likely that fears about more tariffs by US President Donald Trump are likely to limit the market's gains. While some analysts said that the overall market as well as auto stocks have factored in most of the negatives related to US tariffs, analysts are not ruling out the possibilities of a slight correction in the near term. 

The fact that foreign investors have turned net buyers in recent sessions is also boosting the sentiment. On Thursday, they net bought INR-111.11-billion worth of equities, remaining buyers in the market for sixth straight session, the longest number of days they bought in the domestic market in eight months. At 0753 IST, the GIFT Nifty April contract traded on the NSE Inrternational Exchange was unchanged at 23753 points compared to its previous closing level. However, this was a near 1% higher than the Nifty 50's closing level of 23591.95 points Thursday, which was up 0.5% from the previous session. The Sensex ended 0.4% higher at 77606.43 points on Thursday.

Auto stocks had fallen sharply Thursday after the US announced a 25% tariff on auto imports from Apr. 3 and indicated similar levies on auto parts on or before May 3. However, some analysts tracking the sector said that it was a knee-jerk reaction, and that likely better sales volume growth and earnings would bring the focus back to these stocks in the near term. Also, investors are waiting for the March sales volume data due on Apr. 1.

Research reports said most categories are likely to post positive volume growth barring commercial vehicles. Emkay Global Financial Services upgraded Maruti Suzuki India's stock rating to 'buy' from 'add' and revised the target price by 5.5% to INR 13,500 despite a muted near-term passenger vehicle growth environment. A favourable risk-reward and better visibility on internation combustine engine sport utility vehicle launches are favourable for the company.  (Anjana Therese Antony)

Equity Alert: Asian markets hit by US auto tariffs; Japan's Nikkei down 2%

MUMBAI--0820 IST--Most indices in the Asian region were down amid worries about the recently announced automobile tariffs, and risks of the reciprocal tariffs likely to be implemented from next week.

Indices in Japan and South Korea, which are major suppliers of cars to the US, fell for the second straight session, tracking the fall in US markets overnight. Japan's Topix and Nikkei 225 Day fell over 2% each after US President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on automobile manufactured outside the US. South Korea's Kospi declined nearly 2%.

Inflation in Japan's Tokyo came higher than expectations with core inflation rising 2.4% on year in March compared with the expectations of a 2.2% rise. The inflation print was higher than the 2.2% rise in February.

Among other losers, Taiwan's TAIEX fell for the second session, down 3% during this period. Indices in China were slightly down as oil stocks fell.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0759 IST:

(Eric Rasquinha)

Equity Alert: US Indices fall for 2nd session as auto tariffs hit stocks

MUMBAI--0729 IST--US indices ended down for the second straight session Thursday as automobile stocks fell after US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on car imports. Investors are also bracing for the likely impact of a slew of reciprocal tariffs that Trump is set to announce next week.

Shares of major US automobile companies fell more Thursday. General Motors fell over 7% and Ford closed nearly 4% lower. Tesla managed to post marginal gains as the impact of tariffs on the company is seen limited due to largely domestic production.

Meanwhile, data showed US initial claims for the unemployment benefits fell 1,000 to 224,000 in the week ended Saturday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims at 225,000. Investors now wait for US personal consumption expenditure price index data that will be released later Friday.

Investors are also anxious about how tariffs will impact the US economy which is showing some weakness as consumer confidence hit a 12-year-low in March, a report by Conference Board earlier this week showed.

Following are the closing levels of US indices overnight:

(Eric Rasquinha)

End

US$1 = INR 85.48

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

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