Stock markets tumble ahead of US 'Liberation Day'; Sensex tanks 1,390 points

Stock markets went into a tailspin on Tuesday with benchmark Sensex plunging by 1,390 points due to selling in IT and private banking shares amid heightened uncertainty ahead of the anticipated rollout of US reciprocal tariffs on April 2 --termed as 'Liberation Day' by President Donald Trump.

Starting the new financial year on a losing note, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,390.41 points or 1.8 per cent to settle at 76,024.51 as 28 of its components ended lower and only two advanced. During the day, the index plummeted 1,502.74 points or 1.94 per cent to 75,912.18.

The NSE Nifty dropped 353.65 points or 1.5 per cent to 23,165.70.

The key indices logged their steepest single-day losses in a month.

US President Donald Trump plans to roll out a set of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which he says will be "Liberation Day" for the US.

From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Titan, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among the biggest laggards.

Among gainers, IndusInd Bank jumped over 5 per cent while Zomato ended marginally higher.

The BSE midcap gauge tanked 1.04 per cent while smallcap index went up marginally by 0.07 per cent.