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EquityWireEquity Alert: European indices mixed; US tariff concern plagues region
Equity Alert

European indices mixed; US tariff concern plagues region

This story was originally published at 15:51 IST on 23 February 2026
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Informist, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000


Equity Alert: European indices mixed; US tariff concern plagues region

 

MUMBAI--1517 IST--European equity indices were mixed with investors worrying about US tariffs. The markets had closed higher Friday after the US Supreme Court ruled against a major portion of President Donald Trump's tariffs. However, over the weekend, Trump said he would introduce 15% tariff. 

 

"I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been "ripping" the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level," the US President wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

 

Shares of UK-based sports retailer JD Sports rose 5?ter the company said it would return around 200 million pounds sterling to investors through a share buyback programme. British aerospace and defence company Rolls-Royce is also planning a share buyback of 1.50 billion pounds sterling as part of its annual earnings statement Thursday, CNBC said, adding that a company spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Shares of the aerospace defence company were down nearly 1%. Shares of Johnson Matthey were down over 15?ter the company agreed to reduce the price of its Catalyst Technologies unit by a quarter to 1.30 billion pounds sterling to sell it to Honeywell International.

 

The Germany-based Ifo Institute said its business climate index for the country rose to 88.6 in February. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the index to rise slightly to 88.4%. "The German economy is showing the first signs of a recovery," Ifo's president Clemens Fuest was reported as saying.

 

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1514 IST:

 

Index

Level

Change in %

FTSE 100 Index

10686.75

0.00

CAC 40

8518.05

0.03

FTSE MIB Index

46797.78

0.70

DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX

25174.10

(-)0.34

SLI PR

2200.69

0.00

 

(Akshat Saksena)


Equity Alert: Olectra Greentech up 5?ter group co's INR-18-bln order win 

 

MUMBAI--1452 IST--Shares of Olectra Greentech rose nearly 5% to an intraday high of INR 1,061.50. The stock rose over 7% from the day's low of INR 988.90 after the company said its group company Evey Trans received an order worth INR 18 billion from Telangana State Road Transport Corp. to supply, operate, and maintain 1,085 electric buses. Of this 1,085 buses, 1,025 comprises 12-metre non-AC buses and 60 are 12-metre AC buses, the company said in an exchange filing. 

 

At 1455 IST, shares of the company traded nearly 3% higher at INR 1,040.50. Nearly 1.60 million shares of the company changed hands on NSE, which is over 12 times higher than the number of shares traded till the same time Friday.  (Adhithya Aji)


Equity Alert: Asian indices higher; KOSPI, TAIEX reach record highs

 

MUMBAI--1436 IST--Equity indices in Asia were largely higher with the KOSPI, TAIEX, and FTSE Singapore Straits Times reaching fresh highs even as markets worldwide grappled with tariff-related uncertainty after the US Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Following the verdict, Trump imposed a fresh tariff of 10% and then increased it to 15% under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace the earlier "emergency duties".

 

Asian markets have shifted to competitiveness from tariff fears as supply chains are seen to be more diversified now than they were in 2018, Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs Australia, was reported saying by Reuters. Economies tied to artificial intelligence hardware, capital goods, and advanced manufacturing are viewed as better positioned than pure export plays, he said.

 

Indonesia's IDX Composite index was also higher for the session after the Indonesia Stock Exchange revealed a series of market reforms following a warning from MSCI that the country was at risk of a downgrade to frontier status by May.

 

The KOSPI reached 5900 points for the first time during the session. The index eventually closed at 5846.09 points. The gains in the index were attributed to the US Supreme Court ruling, despite being followed by Trump's announcement of a global tariff of 15%. Investor optimism over the US markets closing higher Friday is expected to have had a positive impact on South Korea's markets, according to a report from The Chosun Daily.

 

Investors will keep an eye out for the NVIDIA earnings scheduled to be released later in the week. "The current environment is increasing dispersion within emerging Asia, AI-linked North Asia continues to attract flows while trade-sensitive and high-beta markets remain vulnerable to policy shocks," Glenn Yin, director of research at AC Capital Market was reported as saying.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1432 IST:

 

INDEX

LEVEL

CHANGE IN %

KOSPI

5846.09

0.65

FTSE Singapore Straits Times 

5031.04

0.27

S&P/ASX 200 Index

9026

(-)0.61

Hang Seng Index 27081.91 2.53
IDX Composite  8383.53 1.35
TAIEX 33788.15 0.54

 

(Akshat Saksena)


Equity Alert: Indices marginally off highs as metal, IT cos extend losses

 

MUMBAI--1335 IST--Indices were marginally off highs as metal and information technology companies extended losses. This was offset by gains in the shares of financial services companies. The heavyweight stock, HDFC Bank, which was up nearly 1%, contributed to the gains in the Nifty 50.  

 

At 1315 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25629.60 points, up 58.35 points or 0.2%, and the BSE Sensex was at 83056.40 points, up 241.69 points or 0.3%. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone continued to be the top gainer in the 50-stock index, up over 2%. Financial services companies Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Life Insurace Co., Axis Bank, SBI Life Insurance Co., Bajaj Finance, and State Bank of India were up 1-2%. Shares of fast moving consumer goods companies Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, and Tata Consumer Products rose around 1?ch. 

 

Hindalco Industries was the worst hit stock in the index, down nearly 3%. IT companies continued to be the laggards with Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies down 1-2%. Among individual stocks, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Cipla, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, Max Healthcare Institute, and Trent were down 1-2%.   

 

Broader market indices were mixed. The Nifty small-cap indices were 0.3% higher each while the mid-cap indices were down 0.4-0.9%. The Nifty Mid-cap 50 fell 0.9% and was dragged down by IDFC FIRST Bank shares, which were down 16%. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100, which fell 0.6% was weighed down by a near 6?cline in the shares of AU Small Finance Bank. 

 

IDFC First Bank continued to be the worst hit stock in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. The shares hit a six-month low of INR 66.80. UPL was also among the worst hit stocks in both the indices, down nearly 15%.

 

ITC Hotels was the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index, up nearly 4%. In the Nifty 500 index, Blue Jet Healthcare was the top gainer. The stock hit the upper circuit at INR 391.40, up nearly 10%.               

 

Exchange-traded funds traded higher, tracking a rise in precious commodity prices. ICICI Prudential Silver ETF traded over 6% higher and its gold ETF offering was up 2%. Nippon India Silver ETF was almost 6% higher at INR 250.80 on NSE. At 1314 IST, the April futures contract of gold was up over 1% at INR 159,271 per 10-grams on the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India. The silver March futures contract of silver were at INR 262,302 per kilogram on MCX.  (Adhithya Aji)


Equity Alert: AU Small Finance Bk dn 8?ter Haryana govt de-empanels bank

 

MUMBAI--1320 IST--Shares of AU Small Finance Bank fell nearly 8% to an over three-week low of INR 950. This comes after the bank along with IDFC First Bank were de-empanelled by the Haryana government. Shares of the lender have fallen around 5% in the last 7 days and nearly 1% in the last 30 days. However, the stock has risen over 29% in the last 180 days and nearly 79% in the last 52 weeks. 

 

The lender said the Haryana government had earlier sought information on some account opening and transaction details relating to one of its accounts, even though its internal review showed no indication of any fraud at its branches dealing with Haryana government accounts. The state government sought information regarding suspected unauthorised transactions between the government account and another customer account.


The account in question was opened with an initial credit of INR 250 million from a large private sector bank and an additional credit of INR 470 million was made to this account through multiple transactions from another private sector bank, which has recently disclosed fraudulent transactions in Haryana government accounts, the bank said, alluding to IDFC FIRST Bank.

 

IDFC FIRST Bank's fraud came to light after the bank received a request from a department of the government of Haryana seeking closure of its account and transfer of funds to another bank, according to IDFC First Bank's preliminary internal assessment. During this process, discrepancies were observed between the account balance and the amount mentioned by the department. The bank clarified that the matter was confined to a specific group of government-linked accounts and does not extend to other customers.

 

At 1309 IST, shares of AU Small Finance Bank traded nearly 7% lower at INR 961.75. Nearly 10 million shares of the company were traded on the bourse so far, higher than over 1 million shares traded at the same time Friday. Out of 11 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, four have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 1,120, four have a 'hold' recommendation with an average target price of INR 934, and three have 'sell' recommendation.  (Akshat Saksena) 


Equity Alert: Bajaj Finance hits over 2-month high after 4-mln share deal

 

MUMBAI--1315 IST--Shares of Bajaj Finance rose 1.5% to INR 1,046, their highest price in over two months after over 4 million shares of the company changed hands in a large deal on NSE. The deal was executed at INR 1,040.25 per share, a premium of around 1% from Friday's closing price. The details of the seller are not known.

 

At 1307 IST, shares of Bajaj Finance traded nearly 1% higher at INR 1,037.70. So far in the day, nearly 8 million shares of the company have changed hands on NSE, more than double the 3.4 million shares traded till the same time Friday. This was also higher than the stock's three-month average trading volume of over 7 million and one-year average volume of around 6 million.  

 

Of the 13 research reports on the company available with Informist, nine have a 'buy' or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,132, indicating an over 9% upside from current market price. Of the remaining four, three have a 'hold' or equivalent rating on the stock with target prices of INR 1,000 to INR 1,160. One broking firm has a 'reduce' recommendation with a target price of INR 1,000. (Arya S. Biju)


Equity Alert: Vodafone Idea AGR do not alter industry dynamics, says HSBC

 

MUMBAI--1248 IST--HSBC believes the relief given to Vodafone Idea's adjusted gross revenue and its planned capital expenditure do not alter industry competitive dynamics. Additionally, the mobile average revenue per user is said to be robust and believes it to increase further, HSBC was cited as saying by CNBC.

 

The home broadband subscribers are expected to expand and free cash flow along with dividends is likely to grow, HSBC said. The brokerage firm has reiterated its 'reduce' rating on Vodafone Idea but has raised its target price by nearly 33% to INR 7.7. 

 

HSBC has also reiterated its 'buy' recommendation on Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries with target prices of INR 2,400 and INR 1,780, respectively. At 1233 IST, shares of Vodafone Idea were down 2% at INR 10.94 and those of Bharti Airtel up 0.8% at INR 1,994.10 and Reliance Industries and 0.1% at INR 1,421.  (Simran Rede)


Equity Alert: HAL dn 4%; news say Air Force grounds single seat Tejas fleet

 

MUMBAI--1235 IST--Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics fell over 4% to an intraday low of INR 3,997.50 after media reports said that the Indian Air Force has grounded the entire fleet of around 30 single-seat Tejas jets for technical scrutiny. A Tejas light combat aircraft sustained major damage to its airframe after it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase post suspected brake failure earlier this month, news agency PTI said, citing sources.

 

This news comes amid the government's plans to increase Indian defence exports. The budget outlay may have been lower-than-expected, but are still significant, indicating strong domestic demand and the Union government's plans on increasing exports, an analyst at a domestic brokerage said. This is the third time an accident has involved India's flagship Tejas jets. The first accident was in Jaisalmer in March 2024. The second incident happened in November, when the jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow.

 

All the 10 brokerage recommendations available with Informist on HAL have a 'buy' or an equivalent call on the stock. The average target price for these recommendations is INR 5,297, indicating an upside of more than 32% from the current market price. At 1230 IST, shares of the company were down almost 4% at INR 4,005.60 on the NSE.  (Eshitva Prakash)


Equity Alert: Adani Ports up 3%; co plans iron ore blending unit at Gangavaram

 

MUMBAI--1233 IST--Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 3.5% to an intraday high of INR 1,564.50. The company, through its subsidiary Adani Gangavaram Port, has signed a memorandum of understanding with NMDC and Brazil-based Vale S.A to set up an integrated iron ore blending facility and a special economic zone at the Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh. The rise in shares has helped erase the fall in the company's stock price over the last three days.

 

As part of this plan, fully mechanised berthing and cargo-handling facilities capable of accommodating Valemax vessels of 400,000 tonnes capacity will be set up. The capacity of Gangavaram Port will increase to 75 million tonnes with this development, Adani Ports said in a press release. The port's capacity was 60 million tonnes per annum in 2023.

 

At 1233 IST, shares of the company were 2.5% higher at INR 1,548.50. Over 1.96 million shares of the company were traded on the bourse so far, higher than the nearly 511,000 shares traded at the same time Friday. All seven brokerage reports on the company available with Informist have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 1,877.  (Akshat Saksena)


Equity Alert: Downgrade by Jefferies shakes IT stocks; Infosys, Wipro down 2%

 

MUMBAI--1213 IST--Shares of information technology companies fell further as the threat of artificial intelligence tools hurting the long-term prospects of these companies continued to spook investors. The latest trigger for this decline was a slew of rating downgrades by global brokerage Jefferies, which said that competition from AI is likely to shift the revenue mix of IT companies toward consulting and implementation work, according to an NDTV Profit report.

 

The brokerage warned that AI could structurally alter business models and compress valuations, even as stocks have rebounded this year. The brokerage downgraded Infosys, HCL Technologies and Mphasis to 'hold', and Tata Consultancy Services, LTIMindtree and Hexaware Technologies to 'underperform'. Coforge is the among the brokerage's top picks in this sector.

 

At 1213 IST, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were down 1–2% and were among the worst hit stocks in the Nifty 50 index. Outside the 50-stock index, Persistent Systems, MPHASIS, and Coforge were down 1–3%.

 

The Nifty IT index was down nearly 1.2% at 31620.25 points. The sectoral index had fallen to an over 10-month low of 31607.75 points earlier in the day.  (Eshitva Prakash)


Equity Alert: Indices off highs as select stocks fall more; HDFC Bank up 1%

 

MUMBAI--1142 IST--Benchmark indices came off highs as select stocks fell more. Among information technology stocks, Wipro fell nearly 3% and was worst hit in the index. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies fell 1-2%. Shares of Jio Financial Services, Bharat Electronics, ITC, Trent, and Hindalco Industries were down 0.5-1.0%.

 

However, a near 1% rise in index heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank held the Nifty 50 up. At 1142 IST, the Nifty was at 25667.10 points, up 95.85 points or 0.4%. The BSE Sensex was at 83176.01 points, up 361.30 points or 0.4%.

 

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose over 2% and was top gainer among the Nifty 50 constituents. Axis Bank, SBI Life Insurance Co., HDFC Life Insurance Co., Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Shriram Finance rose 1-2%. State Bank of India was up over 1%.

 

IT stocks fell after the global brokerage Jefferies downgraded them saying that there are risks as the industry requires a change in operating model. Artificial intelligence may structurally change the IT business mix towards consulting and implementation while shrinking managed services, Jefferies was quoted as saying by CNBC-TV18. 

 

Broader market indices were mixed, with Nifty small-cap indices up 0.2?ch and Nifty mid-cap indices down 0.3-1.0%. Nifty Smallcap 50 rose 0.1% and was supported by gains in Neuland Laboratories. The stock rose 4%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.6% aided by an over 9% surge in the shares of Aegis Vopak Terminals. The stock was among the top gainers in the Nifty 500 constituents as well.

 

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank was the top gainer, up nearly 2%. Shares of Indian Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab National Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank rose 2–4%. On the other hand, Nifty IT was the worst hit, down over 1%. An over 2?ll in the shares of LTIMindtree dragged the index down.  

  

Shares of ITC Hotels and Indian Bank were the top gainers in the Nifty 200 index. They were up nearly 4?ch. Indian Bank hit an all-time high of INR 985.80. IDFC FIRST Bank and UPL remained the worst hit in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. They were down over 16% and over 13%, respectively.  (Adhithya Aji)


Equity Alert: Cipla dn; US FDA's 'official action indicated' for key supplier

 

MUMBAI--1120 IST--Shares of Cipla fell over 2% to an intraday low of INR 1,308.80 after the company Saturday said the US Food and Drug Administration issued 'official action indicated' against Pharmathen International S.A., which is a supplier of lanreotide injection to the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Cipla USA. The US FDA conducted a good manufacturing practices inspection at Pharmathen International's manufacturing facility at Rodopi in Greece in November.

 

Lanreotide accounted for nearly 12% of Cipla's sales in the US in 2025. The company on Jan. 23 had lowered its 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin guidance to 21.00% from 22.75?rlier on the back of a persistent lanreotide supply issue.

 

Pharmathen had already paused lanreotide production after the US drug regulator's observations in November. Cipla is exploring multiple options, including alternative production sites, to reduce supply risk for the hormone and tumour drug, its management said at a post-earnings press conference.

 

Brokerage Jefferies has retained its 'underperform' rating on the stock as it sees a meaningful downside risk from Lanreotide supply woes, according to a social media post by NDTV Profit. The brokerage expects these supply issues to extend into FY28. Earlier, Cipla's management had said that lanreotide supply will resume in the first half of FY27. 

 

Of the 12 brokerage reports available with Informist on the stock, eight have an average target price of INR 1,560, while three have a 'sell' call and one brokerage says 'hold'.  (Eshitva Prakash)


Equity Alert: UPL down 13%; Nuvama downgrades it to 'hold', ups target price 1%

 

MUMBAI--1007 IST--Shares of UPL fell more than 13% to a low of INR 650. Nuvama Institutional Equities has downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' but raised its target price by over 1% to INR 816 from INR 806. The board of UPL Friday approved a group reorganisation plan which will be carried through a composite scheme of arrangement and will consolidate the company's India and international crop protection businesses under a new listed entity called UPL Global Sustainable Agri Solutions. Subsequently, the India crop protection business will be vertically demerged into UPL Global.

 

The recent run-up in the stock and unresolved concerns over leverage and post-restructuring dilution have led Nuvama to reduce its recommendation and target price on the stock, according to a report from the brokerage. The restructuring aims to gain administrative and business synergies and unlock value as the individual businesses gain industry standard valuation. However, even after the restructuring the net debt is similar despite being redistributed between the two entities, the brokerage said. According to the brokerage, net debt of UPL Global should be around 190 billion and net debt of its stand-alone business should be around INR 32 billion. The deleveraging from now is dependent on the cash flow generation and working capital management, which according to the brokerage, is neutral.

 

The brokerage has revised its valuation method to more accurately reflect the likely perception of UPL as a holding company after the restructuring. "We are factoring in an estimated (around) INR25bn (billion) cash inflow from an (around) 8?vanta stake sale post IPO, arriving at a revised TP of INR816/share," Nuvama said. Limited visibility on deleveraging, which is dependent on the future cash flow and accounting for the dilution from the UPL Global Sustainable Agri Solutions merger, were reasons given by the brokerage to downgrade the stock.  

 

At 0956 IST, shares of the company were down over 12% at INR 659.05. Over 5 million shares of the company were traded on NSE so far, over 10 times the number of shares traded at the same time Friday. Out of the six brokerage reports on the company with Informist, three have a 'buy' recommendation with the lowest target price at INR 798 and the highest price at INR 860. The remaining three have a 'hold' recommendation with the lowest target price at INR 712 and the highest price at INR 816.  (Akshat Saksena)


Equity Alert: IDFC First Bk plummets 20% as co discloses INR 5.90 bln fraud

 

MUMBAI--1005 IST--Shares of IDFC FIRST Bank fell 20% to an over eight-month low of INR 66.80 after the company disclosed a fraud worth INR 5.90 billion. The discrepancy involved an account of the Haryana government, likely originating from fraudulent activities carried out by some employees at the bank's Chandigarh branch. While the lender has said this is unlikely to have a major impact on its costs and deposits, brokerage firms believe this fraud will likely to translate into near-term provisioning pressure.

 

On Saturday, the bank said it had received a request from a Haryana government department for closure of its account and transfer of funds to another bank. In the process, the lender observed differences in the balances in the account and the balances mentioned by the Haryana government department in the Chandigarh branch. 

 

"The incident raises concerns around internal controls and governance oversight, with the around INR 5.90 billion reconciliation gap likely to translate into near-term provisioning pressure and heightened regulatory scrutiny," ICICI Securities said. For the quarter ended December, the lender had reported a net profit of INR 5.03 billion and its provisions for bad loans were at INR 13.98 billion. The bank will see continued deposit growth despite the fraud incident, its management said in a conference call. 

 

The lender has appointed consultancy firm KPMG for a forensic audit into this matter. Of the eight brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, seven have a 'buy' call on the stock with an average target price of INR 92, while one has a 'hold' call.  (Eshitva Prakash)


Equity Alert: Indices open higher after US court strikes down Trump tariffs

 

MUMBAI--0947 IST--Domestic benchmark indices opened higher Monday after the US Supreme Court Friday struck down the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on most of the country's trade partners. After the ruling, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a 15% global import tariff.

 

At 0938 IST, the Nifty was at 25761.20, up 189.95 points or 0.7%. The BSE Sensex was at 83425.55 points, up 610.84 points or 0.7%. Shares of financial services companies were the biggest gainers. Index heavyweights HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries rose around 1?ch and lent support to the 50-stock index.

 

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was the top gainer among the Nifty 50 constituents. The stock was up nearly 3%. Shares of Axis Bank, HDFC Life Insurance Co., Shriram Finance, SBI Life Insurance Co., Kotak Mahindra Bank, and State Bank of India rose 1-2%. On the other hand, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. was the worst hit stock in the index. It was down 2%. Among information technology stocks, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and HCL technologies were down 0.3 to 1%. Shares of Cipla fell over 1%.

   

Indian Bank and ITC Hotels were the top gainers in the Nifty 200 index. They were up over 3?ch. Vedanta rose nearly 2?ter the board decided to meet on Wednesday to consider raising funds by issuing non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.

 

IDFC First Bank hit a lower circuit at INR 70.98, down 15%. The stock plummeted after the bank found discrepancies in the balances of some Haryana government accounts. This matter pertains to accounts operated through the Chandigarh branch, where a fraud of INR 5.9 billion was found. The bank has suspended four branch officials and has appointed KPMG to conduct a forensic audit. The stock was the worst hit in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices.

 

AU Small Finance Bank was among the worst hit on both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500. The stock was down over 7%. It fell after the bank said it was de-empaneled by the Haryana government on Feb 18. The bank said that there was no indication of fraudulent practices in the closed account of Haryana government.

 

UPL hit the lower circuit at INR 677.15, down 10%, after Nuvama downgraded the stock recommendation to 'hold'. The stock was among the worst hit in the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 as well.  (Adhithya Aji)


Equity Alert: Most Asian mkts up amid US tariff confusion; China, Japan shut

 

MUMBAI--0836 IST--Equity markets in Asia rose Monday amid the uncertainty over US import tariff after the country's Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs set in place by US President Donald Trump. Saturday, Trump lifted the temporary duty to 15% from 10%, which has further raised uncertainty in global markets -- a move that has come as a surprise to some of his own officials, Reuters reported. Markets in China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays while those in Japan were also closed for a holiday. The South Korean KOSPI touched fresh highs yet again. 

 

"While the Supreme Court's ruling invalidates a large share of existing tariffs and weakens the ability to target individual countries, it does not dismantle the broader tariff framework," Rystad Energy's Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti said in a note, CNBC reported. If the upper limit of the tariff is reached without the exemption from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the average rate could climb even higher than the structure which was struck down by the US Supreme Court, Galimberti added.

 

The South Korean KOSPI rose to 5900 points for the first time during the session. The rise in the index was due to the US Supreme Court judgement, which ruled the reciprocal tariffs as illegal, the Chosun reported. Although uncertainty remained after Trump said he would impose global tariffs up to 15%, the improved investor sentiment on the back of New York's stock market closing higher last weekend is expected to have positively impacted South Korea's domestic markets, the report said.

 

Stocks in Hong Kong rose as investors diversified from US assets due to trade uncertainties arising from the US tariffs, South China Morning Post reported. Shares of video game company NetEase and short-video platform Kuaishou Technology rose over 3% and nearly 4%, respectively. Shares of Alibaba Group rose nearly 4% and those of Tencent Holding rose over 3%.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0831 IST:

 

INDEX

LEVEL

CHANGE IN %

KOSPI

5873.84

1.12

FTSE Singapore Straits Times 

5036.66

0.38

S&P/ASX 200 Index

9038.50

(-)0.47

Hang Seng Index 27115.64 2.66
IDX Composite  8381.59 1.33
TAIEX 34082.99 1.42

 

(Akshat Saksena)


Equity Alert: Indices to open sharply higher after US SC scraps Trump tariffs

 

MUMBAI--0825 IST--Domestic benchmark indices are seen opening sharply higher Monday after the US Supreme Court struck down global reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump as illegal on Friday. After this ruling, Trump used Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a 15% global import tariff. While analysts expect only a slight benefit to the effective import duty on India post this ruling, the judgement is expected to reduce the ability of the Trump administration to impose reciprocal tariffs at this scale again.

 

The extent of effective relief hinges on countries' export dependence on goods covered under Section 232 such as steel, aluminium, copper, automobile, etc., according to Emkay Global Financial Services. India's effective tariff rate is now likely to be 11–13%, as per the brokerage's calculations. Most of India's Asian peers will have similar effective tariff rates, barring China, whose effective rate is likely to be above 15%, the brokerage said. Meanwhile, after the imposition of Section 122, India will pay 10% tariffs on almost 60% of the exports to the US, Elara Securities (India) said. The brokerage sees the policy implied effective tariff rate on India to be 9.1%, compared to 13.7% in the first week of February.

 

However, Elara Securities also expects these developments to increase global trade uncertainties, and that tariffs will turn more sector-specific. Section 122 comes with a 150-day deadline, after which the brokerage sees two key overhangs over global trade. First, it is unclear which tariffs will be in effect and second, the rate of tariffs is also not decided, which is likely to add to uncertainties.


On Friday, equity indices in the US ended higher after the Supreme Court's judgment, which may provide relief to companies burdened by higher costs from the duties and easing concern about sticky inflation still plaguing the US economy, CNBC reported. Several markets in Asia were closed Monday on account of holidays. South Korea's KOSPI set another record high in early trade, aided by gains in index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 2.5%, rising the most among its peers.

 

At 0820 IST, the GIFT Nifty 50 indicated a gap-up start for the Nifty 50, with the February contract nearly 180 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close. On Friday, the Nifty 50 index closed 0.5% higher at 25571.25 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 82814.71 points, up 0.4%. The 50-stock index is seen facing resistance at 25850 points and expected to find support around 25400, Vipin Kumaar, derivatives and technical analyst at Globe Capital Market said.  (Eshitva Prakash)


Equity Alert: US mkts end higher Fri; US Supreme Court rules against tariffs

 

MUMBAI--0738 IST--US indices ended higher Friday after the US Supreme Court ruled against the global tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. The gains were led by shares of Amazon, Alphabet and other heavyweights.

 

The US Supreme Court ruled against the tariffs enacted last year under the federal law designed for national emergencies, Reuters reported. Calling the ruling a "disgrace", Trump imposed 10% global tariffs for a period of 150 days under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace emergency duties. Investors breathed a sigh of relief as Trump's newly announced tariffs were not higher, Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, was reported as saying. On Saturday, however, Trump increased the duty to 15% from 10%, in a move that has come as a surprise to some of his own officials, Reuters reported.

 

Shares of Amazon rose 2.6%. The company sources 70% of its goods from China, CNBC reported, citing Wedbush Securities. Shares of Home Depot and Five Below, up 1% and 2% respectively, also benefited as investors believe the outcome would have a positive effect on these companies as well. "In the case of Amazon specifically, a lot of their stuff is imported from China, so tariffs are going to make the prices on Amazon go up for customers, and when prices go up, people buy fewer of those things," Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management was reported as saying. "No longer facing that problem is the source of excitement, I think."

 

"Now lower courts are going to have to figure out what's going to happen to people who paid the tariffs and the government paying out big refunds," FBB Capital Partners senior research analyst and asset allocation strategist Michael Brenner was reported as saying. "If that's out there, that would be effectively a form of economic stimulus."  

 

On the data side, US economic growth increased 1.4% on year in the December quarter, with the government spending recording its biggest decline since 1972 due to last year's shutdown. However, steady consumer and business outlays underlined the economy's resilience, Reuters reported. The 1.4% increase was against a forecast of 3% by economists polled by Reuters and the 4.4% rise in the trailing quarter. The country's GDP rose 2.2% last year, its slowest pace in five years. The underlying inflation rose more than expected last year, with the personal consumption expenditures index exclusive of food and energy rising 0.4% against a rise of 0.2% in November. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the core personal consumption expenditure price index to rise 0.3%. In the 12 months through December, the core personal consumption expenditure rose 3% against 2.8% in November.

 

Shares of NVIDIA will be in focus as the company is set to announce its quarterly results Wednesday. AI-linked technology stocks have volatile in recent months due to concerns about high valuations and limited evidence that massive investments in AI are driving revenue and profit growth, Reuters said.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:  

 

Index

Level

Change in %

S&P 500

6909.51

0.69

NASDAQ Composite

22886.07

0.9

Dow Jones Industrial Average

49625.97

0.47

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.88

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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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