Market loses steam as U.S.-China trade winds turn rough

The domestic equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Monday, snapping a two-day winning streak. Sentiment was hit by renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China after President Donald Trump escalated tariff threats in response to Beijing's tighter controls on rare earth exports. Weakness in IT, FMCG, and consumer durables stocks weighed on the indices, with the Nifty closing below the 25,250 level. Q2 earnings, key economic data, and global cues will guide market direction in the coming sessions.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 173.77 points or 0.21% to 82,327.05. The Nifty 50 index fell 58 points or 0.23% to 25,227.35. In the past two trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty jumped 0.89% and 0.96%, respectively.

Tata Motors (down 2.67%), Infosys (down 1.40%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.50%) were major drags today.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.18% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.43%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,664 shares rose and 2,627 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 8.95% to 11.01.

Economy:

India's retail inflation slipped to 1.54% in September from 2.07% in the preceding month mainly due to subdued prices of food items, including vegetables and pulses, according to government data released on Monday. The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was 5.49% in September 2024.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.28% to 6.513 from the previous close of 6.521.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 88.6725 compared with its close of 88.7200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2025 settlement rose 1.97% to Rs 123,756.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.16% to 99.14.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.35% to 4.069

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2025 settlement added $ 1 or 1.77% to $63.84 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow futures jumped 433 points on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a softer tone toward China. Earlier, Trump had threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and new export controls on key software, heightening trade tensions. However, he later said relations with China would be fine and that Washington did not intend to hurt Beijing, easing market worries of an escalating trade conflict.

European shares traded higher, however, Asian shares ended lower amid renewed trade frictions between the world's two largest economies.

China's trade surplus fell to $90.45 billion in September, from $102.33 billion a month prior. Exports rose an annual 8.3% last month, customs data showed on Monday, compared with a 4.4% increase in August. Imports grew 7.4%, their fastest pace since April 2024, against a 1.3% gain a month prior,

China's Ministry of Commerce reportedly said on Sunday that the country was not afraid of' a trade war, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to impose punitive new tariffs on Chinese imports.

Beijing also reportedly accused Washington of a textbook double standard' following Trump's threat to levy an additional 100% tariff after China imposed fresh export controls on rare earth minerals.

In a Truth Social post later that day, Trump appeared to temper his tone, suggesting the administration 'may not follow through' with a 'massive increase of tariffs' on China. However, the remarks did little to calm markets.

On Friday, U.S. equities tumbled amid escalating trade tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 878.82 points, or 1.9%, to close at 45,479.60. The S&P 500 slid 2.71% to 6,552.51, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.56% to 22,204.43, marking the S&P's steepest one-day decline since April 10.

Trump's latest measures have rattled global markets and raised concerns about further deterioration in U.S.'China relations ahead of a scheduled meeting with President Xi Jinping in two weeks--a meeting Trump now says may not take place.

New Listing:

Shares of Tata Capital settled at Rs 330.40 on the BSE, representing a premium of 1.35% as compared with the issue price of Rs 326.

The stock was listed at Rs 330, exhibiting a premium of 1.23% to the issue price. The stock has hit a high of 332.80 and a low of 326.15. On the BSE, over 99.78 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

Stocks in Spotlight:

BSE surged 4.26% after clarity on weekly options expiry. Reports said SEBI will not alter the weekly expiry schedule unless data shows unusual trading activity. The regulator will review derivative data from July-September before taking any steps to curb retail F&O participation.

Avenue Supermarts (Dmart) slipped 2.72% after its consolidated net profit tanked 11.37% to Rs 685.01 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 772.97 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 1.93% to Rs 16,676.30 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 16,359.7 crore in Q1 FY26.

BLS International Services tumbled 11.21% after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) temporarily barred the company from participating in new Indian Mission tenders for a period of two years. The company added that Indian Missions accounted for about 12% of its consolidated revenue and 8% of EBITDA in Q1 FY26, suggesting limited financial impact.

Stallion India Fluorochemicals hit an upper circuit of 10% after the company's standalone net profit surged to Rs 11.42 crore in Q2 FY26, compared to Rs 0.85 crore posted in Q2 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 56.24% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 105.56 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2025. Sequentially, the company's standalone net profit increased by 10.23%, while revenue declined by 4.44%.

Vodafone Idea (VIL) tumbled 3.43% after the Supreme Court postponed the hearing on the company's plea against the government's additional AGR demand.

Indo Thai Securities added 4.28% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 218.58% to Rs 14.40 crore on 154.4% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 23.71 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

Waaree Renewable Technologies rallied 8.48% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 117.2% to Rs 116.30 crore on 47.7% jump in net sales to Rs 774.78 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q2 FY25.

Emmforce Autotech rose 1.41% after the company announced that it has secured a long-term supply contract from a U.S.-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the purchase of its products.

IPO Update:

Rubicon Research received bids for 1,70,75,58,840 shares as against 1,64,55,670 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Monday (13 October 2025). The issue was subscribed 103.77 times.

Canara Robeco Asset Management Company received bids for 33,89,31,040 shares as against 3,48,98,051 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Monday (13 October 2025). The issue was subscribed 9.71 times.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company received bids for 4,39,22,900 shares as against 16,67,15,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on Monday (13 October 2025). The issue was subscribed 0.26 times.

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