MUMBAI: The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Friday, following US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on pharma imports and sustained selling by foreign institutional investors.
As of 9.25 am, Sensex was down 388 points, or 0.48 per cent at 80, 771 and Nifty was down 119 points, or 0.48 per cent at 24, 771.
Shares of Indian and other Asian pharmaceutical companies fell after Trump announced tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs, starting October 1, 2025.
Apart from drugs, President Trump announced a 50 per cent duty on imports of kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 per cent on upholstered furniture, and 25 per cent on heavy trucks.
America is India’s largest export market for pharmaceutical goods, absorbing 31 per cent of the country's pharma exports.
Analysts said that India, as an exporter of generic drugs, is unlikely to be affected by Trump's actions; however, they noted that a sentimental impact on pharmaceutical stocks is likely, since the US President may target generic drugs next.
The broad cap indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, dipped by 0.18 and 0.20 per cent, respectively. Cipla, Dr Reddy's Labs, Titan Company, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were L&T, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, Tata Steel and ONGC.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty pharma, the top loser, lost 2.39 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank (down 1.11 per cent) and Nifty Healthcare Index (down 2.20 per cent) were other major losers.