Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday, April 7, as panic spread across global financial markets. This followed a major escalation in trade tensions sparked by the United States’ latest tariff decision.

Sensex and Nifty Plunge

The BSE Sensex, which includes 30 major stocks, opened at 71,449.94—falling by 3,914.75 points or 5.19% from last week’s closing value. The broader Nifty 50 also suffered a steep drop, losing 1,146.05 points, or 5%, to begin the session at 21,758.40.

Tata Group Stocks Hit Hard

Tata Group companies bore the brunt of the early morning sell-off. By 9:30 am, shares of Tata Motors had plunged over 11%, while Tata Steel dropped more than 8%.

IT companies also faced heavy losses. HCL Tech, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra each declined by around 6% in early trading. Investors rushed to sell off tech shares amid growing fears of a global economic slowdown.

The Main Trigger: Trump's Tariff Hike

The biggest reason for this global market turmoil was the sudden increase in import tariffs announced by the U.S. government. Former President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. would impose “reciprocal tariffs” on almost all its trading partners.

In response, China announced its own set of duties—hiking tariffs by 34% on all imports from the U.S. These tariffs are expected to be enforced starting April 10.

Asia Follows Wall Street’s Slide

Stock markets across Asia followed Wall Street’s sharp decline from Friday. The threat of a prolonged and damaging trade war sent panic waves through investors.

In Japan, the Nikkei index began the session down 625.61 points at 33,154.97. It later dropped further, reaching a 52-week low of 30,792.74—down 8.84% from the previous close of 33,780.58.

Taiwan's Taiex index opened with a massive fall of 9.8%. The steep drops in both Japan and Taiwan triggered automatic circuit breakers meant to pause trading during heavy crashes.

Hong Kong, China, and South Korea Also Fall

Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China reacted sharply to both Trump’s tariff move and Beijing’s response. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 9.28%, or 2,119.76 points, to 20,730.05. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped by a smaller 4.21%.

South Korea's Kospi Index also slid, falling by 4.8% in early trading.