Sensex settles 700 pts lower, Nifty below 24,900: Tariff jitters among key factors behind market decline

Sensex, Nifty Retreat After Six-Day Rally Amid Powell Caution

After nearly a week-long surge, Indian equity benchmarks slipped on August 22, with traders adopting a cautious stance ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address at the Jackson Hole symposium.

The Sensex dropped 693.86 points (0.85%) to settle at 81,306.85, while the Nifty50 declined 213.65 points (0.85%) to 24,870.10.

Sectoral Highlights

• Decliners: Financials and banking (-1%), IT (-1%) following recent gains.

• Resilient sectors: Pharma and consumer durables were the only ones to stay positive.

Stock Movers

• Major Losers: Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Grasim Industries, Asian Paints (fell up to 2%).

• Notable Gainers: Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance, M&M, Sun Pharma, Trent.

Key Market Triggers

1. Profit-Booking: Investors locked in gains from the recent uptrend, particularly in financials and IT.

2. Powell’s Speech Uncertainty: Markets braced for signals on Fed’s September policy direction.

3. Volatility Uptick: India VIX climbed nearly 2% to 11.59, reflecting risk aversion.

4. US Tariff Concerns: Looming 25% import duties from Aug 27 weighed on sentiment.

5. Currency Moves: The rupee weakened by 11 paise to 87.36/$ despite FPI inflows and softer crude.

6. US Pressure on India: Peter Navarro accused India of aiding Russia and warned of secondary tariffs from Aug 27.

7. Oil Market: Brent crude gained 0.3% to $67.85/barrel, while WTI rose 0.33% near $64.

Technical View

According to Geojit’s Anand James, the rally lost steam near the 25,153 resistance zone. Support is seen around 24,977–25,033, with volatility expected to guide short-term direction.

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