Trump’s ‘Tariff Bomb’ Sparks Market Chaos; Investors Lose ₹3 Lakh Crore

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): A single announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday triggered a massive sell-off in the Indian stock market. Following Thursday night’s declaration of tariffs of up to 100% on multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals, markets opened to a wave of panic selling. The pharmaceutical sector, heavily reliant on the U.S. market, bore the brunt of the fallout, with share prices collapsing across major companies.

Investors suffered huge losses, with approximately ₹3 lakh crore wiped out within a few hours. At the time of reporting, the Sensex had fallen 412 points to 80,747, while the Nifty dropped 115 points to 24,776.

The pharmaceutical sector saw the sharpest decline. The Nifty Pharma Index fell by 1.80%, while companies with significant U.S. exposure saw dramatic losses. Strides Pharma Science fell 6%, Natco Pharma 5%, Biocon 4%, and Sun Pharma 3.8%. Other major names such as Lupin, Mankind Pharma, Glenmark Pharma, Divis Labs, and Cipla lost between 2% and 3.5%.

IT and healthcare sectors also took a hit

Concerns over H-1B visa policies further pressured the IT sector, causing the Nifty IT Index to fall 1.30%. Major IT stocks like Infosys and Tech Mahindra were among the losers. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector index also fell 1.50% during trading.

Investors lose ₹3 lakh crore in market value

The sharp decline slashed investors’ wealth significantly. The total BSE market capitalization fell from ₹457 lakh crore on Thursday to ₹454 lakh crore, erasing ₹3 lakh crore in just one session. Of the 3,073 stocks traded on BSE, 2,062 ended in the red, reflecting widespread fear across the market.