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Key gauges end lower on Trump's fresh tariff threats
Jan-05-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Monday, dragged by IT, Oil & Gas and TECK stocks amid fresh warning from the US to further raise tariffs against India. However, losses remain capped as some support came with the exchange data showing that foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, picking up equities worth Rs 289.80 crore on Friday.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India unlikely to face any material economic or energy impact due to US-Venezuela conflict: Amid recent U.S.-Venezuela tensions, the think tank - Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India is unlikely to face any material economic or energy impact due to the US-Venezuela conflict.

India-EU trade talks to gain momentum with Goyal visit in Brussels: To accelerate the process, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to visit Brussels this week for talks with his EU counterpart on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which has entered its final negotiation phase. 

RBI data shows growth in bank credit to industry in November 2025: The Reserve Bank India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that bank credit to industry increased at a faster rate of 9.6 percent in November 2025 as against 8.3 percent in the same month of the preceding year.

Rupee falls against US Dollar: Indian rupee stayed weak for the fourth straight session and closed lower against the US dollar, weighed down by a firm American currency and subdued equity market sentiment.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green amid optimism around economic growth and prospects of higher military spending in the region. Asian markets ended higher despite rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over sluggish demand in China.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 322.39 points or 0.38% to 85,439.62 and the CNX Nifty was down by 78.25 points or 0.30% to 26,250.30.        

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 85,883.50 and 85,315.33 respectively. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.16%, Consumer Durables up by 1.25%, Metal up by 0.58%, Basic Materials up by 0.56% and FMCG up by 0.51%, while IT down by 1.37%, Oil & Gas down by 1.18%, TECK down by 1.17%, Energy down by 0.95% and Telecom down by 0.81% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 2.65%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.62%, Tata Steel up by 1.56%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.53% and Axis Bank up by 1.45%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.35%, Infosys down by 2.09%, HCL Technologies down by 2.00%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.21% and TCS down by 1.09% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, amid recent U.S.-Venezuela tensions, the think tank - Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India is unlikely to face any material economic or energy impact due to the US-Venezuela conflict. On January 4, American forces carried out a large military operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them to the US to face various charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said India faces negligible impact, as trade with Venezuela has collapsed under sanctions, with crude imports down 81.3% in FY2025 and overall bilateral trade remaining marginal. 

He added that although India was a major buyer of Venezuelan crude in the 2000s and 2010s, bilateral engagement has weakened sharply since 2019 due to US sanctions, which forced India to cut oil imports and scale back commercial activity to avoid secondary sanctions. As a result, India's trade with Venezuela is now small and declining. In FY2025, India's total imports from Venezuela were just $364.5 million, of which crude oil accounted for $255.3 million, an 81.3% drop from $1.4 billion in crude imports in FY2024.

India's exports to Venezuela were modest at $95.3 million, led by pharmaceuticals worth $41.4 million. Srivastava said ‘Given the low trade volumes, existing sanctions constraints, and the large geographical distance, the current developments in Venezuela are not expected to have any meaningful impact on India's economy or energy security’. Venezuela holds about 18% of the world's oil reserves, more than Saudi Arabia (around 16%), Russia (about 5-6%), or the United States (around 4%).

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 26,373.20 and 26,210.05 respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.     

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 2.76%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.53%, Eicher Motors up by 2.17%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.60% and Tata Steel up by 1.56%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.31%, Wipro down by 2.23%, Infosys down by 2.21%, HCL Technologies down by 2.15% and ONGC down by 1.41% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 18.01 points or 0.18% to 9,969.15 and Germany’s DAX gained 231.96 points or 0.95% to 24,771.30, while France’s CAC fell 1.51 points or 0.02% to 8,193.70.

Asian markets settled higher on Monday ahead of key US labour and economic reports due this week, which could shape Federal Reserve policy moving forward. Investors shrugged off geopolitical tensions that escalated after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The South Korean KOSPI index broke the 4,400-mark for the first time as the leaders of China and South Korea hold their second meeting in as many months in Beijing. Japanese shares surged, led by gains in large-cap semiconductor-related shares and after data showed Japan's manufacturing activity steadied in December after five months of contraction. Moreover, Chinese shares rose despite fresh signs of slowing business growth. A private sector survey showed that China's services activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in December.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,023.42

54.58

1.38

Hang Seng

26,347.24

8.77

0.03

Jakarta Composite

8,859.19

111.06

1.27

KLSE Composite

1,680.32

10.56

0.63

Nikkei 225

51,832.80

1,493.32

2.97

Straits Times

4,680.50

24.38

0.52

KOSPI Composite

4,457.52

147.89

3.43

Taiwan Weighted

30,105.04

755.23

2.57
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