Stock market today: GIFT NIFTY futures indicate rocky start for Indian markets on April 8; crude oil prices fall to 4 year lows

Indian markets are set for a rocky start again on Wednesday as the tariff war escalates between the US and China. President Trump signed an executive order of imposing 104% tariffs on China after it failed to withdraw the retaliatory tariffs on April 08. The escalation led to heavy profit booking in US markets in the closing hours. Further, the Asian markets opened more than 3% lower across the board.

Domestically, the RBI policy outcome will be announced at 10:00 am and will remain a key trigger for the day. RBI’s commentary on growth outlook, inflation and rate cut trajectory will be the deciding factor for today’s market movement. Apart from that, global factors may continue to dominate wild swings in the Indian markets on Wednesday.

Asian markets

The Japanese, Hong Kong opened 3% lower on Wednesday after another wild session in the US overnight. The Japanese and Hong Kong indices recouped some losses to trade 2.5% and 1.5% lower at 7:45 am. GIFT NIFTY traded 132 points lower on Wednesday indicating a gap down opening for Indian markets on Wednesday.

US Markets

The US markets on Tuesday witnessed wild moves as trade war escalation dominated the news. The Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P500 opened nearly 3% higher on Tuesday on reports of negotiations with key countries on tariffs. However, as Trump indicated of imposing 104% tariffs on China in response to its retaliatory tariffs. The US markets pared all the gains to end in deep red.

Crude Oil prices

The crude oil prices plummeted to 3-year lows after correcting 4.4% on Tuesday. The recession fears have clouded the on-demand outlook for crude oil as the economy grapples with tariff wars. WTI crude oil prices extended the losses to $57 per barrel, and Brent crude price fell near $60 per barrel.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers on Tuesday to the tune of ₹4,990 crore, and the DII bought equities worth ₹3,097 crore. In the derivatives market, the FIIs continued to remain bearish with 1.09 lakh contracts in short side.