Markets decline in early trade amid caution ahead of tariff deadline, weak Asian peers

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday (July 7, 2025) amid caution ahead of the July 9 U.S. tariff deadline, weak trends in Asian markets and foreign fund outflows.

Volatile trends engulfed markets during the early trade amid concerns surrounding the U.S.-India trade deal, experts said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 170.66 points to 83,262.23 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 53.75 points to 25,407.25.

July 9 marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India. An additional import duty of 26 per cent was announced on Indian goods entering the U.S.

From the Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Eternal, ICICI Bank, and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

However, Trent, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index Hong Kong’s Hang Seng quoted lower while South Korea’s Kospi traded higher.

The US markets ended in the positive territory on Friday.

“Concerns surrounding a US-India trade deal and the fallout of Sebi’s report on Jane Street will be influencing market movement today (Monday). There are reports of a possible interim trade deal between US and India before the July 9th tariff deadline. If that happens, that would be a positive,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said, the looming July 9 tariff deadline could drive volatility.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.63% to $67.87 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹760.11 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the Sensex ended 193.42 points, or 0.23%, higher at 83,432.89. The Nifty inched higher by 55.70 points, or 0.22%, to 25,461.