Sensex Today: On Friday, February 28, 2025, the Indian benchmark indices, Nifty50 and Sensex, experienced a significant drop, driven by the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, ongoing Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) selling, and weak global cues.
The Nifty50 index opened lower at 22,433 and quickly fell to an intraday low of 22,249, marking a loss of over 1.20% within minutes of the opening bell. The BSE Sensex also opened down at 74,201 and hit an intraday low of 73,626, registering a loss of nearly 1,000 points in the early session. Similarly, the Bank Nifty index opened at 48,437 and dropped further, reaching an intraday low of 48,161, reflecting a loss of around 1%.
The total market capitalization of all listed companies on the BSE dropped by Rs 5.8 lakh crore, bringing it to Rs 387.3 lakh crore.
Why Is Indian Share Market Falling Today?
Concerns Ahead of GDP Data Release
Fears of slowing economic growth, weakening earnings, and Trump’s tariff policies have affected the benchmarks. Ongoing foreign investor selling has also played a role. These factors have caused the benchmarks to fall 14% from their record highs in late September.
Investors are concerned. They are closely monitoring the release of the December quarter GDP data. This data is set to be published after market hours on Friday. A Reuters poll of economists suggests that India’s economy likely showed a rebound during the quarter.
Uncertainty Surrounding Trump’s Tariff Policies
On Thursday, Trump announced that the 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would take effect on March 4. This is ahead of the previously stated April 2 timeline. He also imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods and reiterated his commitment to 25% tariffs on goods from the European Union. This unpredictability surrounding trade policies has added to market volatility.
