Barometers trade with small cuts; media shares decline

The key equity barometers continued to trade with minor losses in mid-morning trade, as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff plan. The Nifty hovered below the 23,600 level. Media shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 100.54 points or 0.13% to 77,505.89. The Nifty 50 index fell 19.50 points or 0.08% to 23,572.45.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.16% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.55%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,171 shares rose and 1,538 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index shed 0.87% to 1,496.75. The index advanced 1.52% in the past trading sessions.

Tips Music (down 1.7%), Sun TV Network (down 1.45%), PVR Inox (down 1.06%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.89%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 0.64%) and Network 18 Media & Investments (down 0.33%) declined.

On the other hand, Hathway Cable & Datacom (up 1.38%), Dish TV India (up 1.2%) and Saregama India (up 0.74%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Force Motors added 2.72% after the company announced that it has signed a landmark contract with Indian Defence Forces to supply 2,978 Force Gurkha light vehicles.

Bondada Engineering surged 3.32% after the company announced that its subsidiary, Bondada Green Engineering (BGEPL), had received a work order worth Rs 4.91 crore from SR Power Systems India.

Ashok Leyland shed 0.55%. The company announced that its defence business has secured multiple orders worth over Rs 700 crore for troop transportation, logistics, and other specialized mobility solutions under the Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) program.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks declined on Friday as the latest tariff salvo from U.S. President Donald Trump stoked investor worries of an all-out trade war.

Trump moved ahead with a 25% tariff on auto imports due to kick in next week, drawing fierce criticism from politicians and industry executives across the globe and a warning from global car makers that price hikes were likely on the way.

The widening of the global trade war that Trump kicked off upon regaining the White House has jolted the markets, with shares of global automakers hit particularly hard.

Gold is up more than 17% in the first quarter of the year, heading for its best quarterly performance since 1986.

Data on Friday showed core consumer inflation in Tokyo accelerated in March, remaining above the central bank's target on steady gains in food costs. That kept alive market expectations of a near-term rate hike.

Markets in the US continued to record some selling on Thursday, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration expanding the trade war to autos with its latest round of tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opening a new tab, fell 155.09 points, or 0.37%, to 42,299.70; the S&P 500 (.SPX), opening a new tab, fell 18.89 points, or 0.33%, to 5,693.31; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opening a new tab, fell 94.98 points, or 0.53%, to 17,804.03.

The major U.S. indexes are on track for their first back-to-back monthly declines since the two-month period that ended in October 2023.

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