Markets witnessed a dramatic turnaround on Thursday, August 7, with benchmark indices recovering from deep intraday losses to close marginally higher despite President Donald Trump’s announcement of additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. The Sensex closed 79.27 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 80,623.26, while the Nifty 50 gained 21.95 points or 0.09 per cent to end at 24,596.15.
The recovery was particularly striking as both indices rebounded nearly 750-800 points from their day’s lows. The Nifty 50 surged over 250 points from its intraday low of 24,344.15, demonstrating what market participants described as remarkable resilience in volatile conditions.
“Domestic equities recovered sharply from the intraday lows amid a volatile weekly expiry day. Although the earlier trade was weighed down by broad-based selling following steep US tariff hikes on India, sentiment improved toward the close as reports of potential peace talks involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky raised hopes of a softer US stance on trade,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
The tariff announcement, which raises overall duties on Indian exports to 50 per cent, was positioned as a retaliatory measure against India’s continued imports of Russian oil and defense equipment. However, market sentiment improved significantly in the second half as reports emerged of potential diplomatic dialogue between the US and Russia.
Among individual stocks, Hero MotoCorp led the gainers on the Nifty 50 with a surge of 4.27 per cent to close at ₹4,666.10, followed by Tech Mahindra which gained 1.99 per cent to ₹1,488.10. JSW Steel climbed 1.94 per cent to ₹1,073.00, while Wipro added 1.18 per cent to ₹242.80.
On the losing side, Adani Enterprises declined 2.36 per cent to ₹2,245.90, while Adani Ports fell 1.43 per cent to ₹1,347.50. Grasim dropped 0.86 per cent to ₹2,741.90, Hindustan Unilever lost 0.77 per cent to ₹2,516.00, and Trent declined 0.76 per cent to ₹5,316.00.
Market breadth showed mixed signals with 1,844 stocks advancing against 2,193 declining out of 4,191 stocks traded on the BSE. However, 111 stocks hit 52-week highs compared to 161 touching 52-week lows.
Sectoral performance was largely positive with IT, media, and pharma leading the recovery. “IT, Media, and Digital indices rallied over 1 per cent, whereas intraday profit booking was observed in Realty and Energy indices,” noted Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with Nifty Midcap 100 gaining 0.33 per cent to close at 56,938.30, while Nifty Bank added 0.20 per cent to 55,521.15.
The rupee remained range-bound with a slightly positive bias, trading at 87.67 against the dollar. “Despite the marginal uptick, the broader trend remains weak due to ongoing US-imposed tariffs on Indian goods, which have weighed heavily on the rupee over the past four months, causing it to slide from 84.50 to 87.70,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.
In commodities, gold traded positive with gains of ₹300 at ₹1,01,500 as Comex gold remained firm above $3,375. “Gold is expected to stay buoyant unless there is a resolution or breakthrough in trade talks. Gold is likely to remain volatile within the ₹99,500–₹1,03,000 range,” Trivedi added.
“Market participants demonstrated remarkable resilience today, with the indices recovering nearly 750-800 points from their day’s lows, demonstrating underlying strength and buying appetite at lower levels,” said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza.
Technical analysts remained cautiously optimistic about near-term prospects. “The index formed a bull candle with a long lower shadow highlighting buying demand around the key support area of 24,400-24,500,” noted Bajaj Broking Research.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, “In the short term, the index may continue to recover; however, immediate resistance is seen at 24,660. A decisive move above this level could take the index towards 24,850.”
Looking ahead, market participants will closely monitor developments on the tariff front and any progress in diplomatic talks. “Going forward, rupee movement will be largely dictated by developments on the tariff front. The immediate trading range is seen between 87.40 and 88.15,” Trivedi said regarding currency movements.
The 21-day implementation window for the new tariffs provides some negotiation space between the two countries, with analysts suggesting this could create opportunities for dialogue to ease trade tensions in the coming sessions.
Published on August 7, 2025