The Indian benchmark indices showed significant gains early Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s reversal on tariff threats against eight European countries regarding Greenland ownership. By 9:25 am, the Sensex rose by 568 points, or 0.69%, reaching 82,477, while the Nifty climbed 160 points, or 0.64%, to 25,317. Notably, the Nifty Midcap 100 surged by 0.94%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 by 1.01%, outperforming the main broadcap indices.
All sectoral indices were in positive territory, with Nifty auto, PSU bank, media, and IT sectors leading the gains at 1.05%, 0.89%, 1%, and 0.80%, respectively. Market analysts pointed out that immediate support is at the 25,000 zone, with resistance now around 25,250–25,300. Trump’s announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos that tariffs would not be imposed on European countries over Greenland led to a rebound in Asia-Pacific markets.
Trump’s assurance of no tariffs on Europe eased fears of a US-Europe trade war, which had been weighing on the markets. Analysts noted a significant relief rally in the market due to the withdrawal of the tariff threat, with potential for short-covering as two lakh short contracts are in play. Despite Q3 profitability being impacted by new labor code provisions, analysts believe the market will overlook this as a one-time factor.
In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index and Shenzhen eased slightly, while Japan’s Nikkei surged by 1.87% and South Korea’s Kospi by 1.97%. The US markets closed positively in the last session, with Nasdaq up by 1.18%, S&P 500 by 1.16%, and Dow by 1.21%. Foreign institutional investors in India sold net equities worth Rs 1,788 crore on January 20, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 4,520 crore.
