New Delhi:

Stock market benchmark indices went into a tailspin in early trade on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty crashing over 5 per cent, mirroring a sharp fall in global equities, after US President Trump's tariff hikes and retaliation from China fanned fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01 in early trade. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,160.8 points or 5.06 per cent to 21,743.65. In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "It is no wonder that Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump describe themselves as good friends. Both are experts in giving their economies self-inflicted wounds."

The Congress on Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the stock market crash, saying both he and US President Donald Trump are experts in giving their economies "self-inflicted wounds" and that markets are reacting predictably in a "tariffying" manner.

All the Sensex firms were trading in the negative territory. Tata Steel dropped over 8 per cent, followed by Tata Motors which cracked more than 7 per cent. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the other big laggards.

"November 8, 2016 was demonetisation. April 2, 2025 was the bizarre reciprocal tariffs. Markets are reacting predictably in a tariffying manner," Ramesh added.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked nearly 11 per cent, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 plunged nearly 7 per cent, Shanghai SSE Composite index dropped over 6 per cent and South Korea's Kospi index sank 5 per cent. US markets ended sharply lower on Friday. The S&P 500 plummeted 5.97 per cent, Nasdaq composite slumped 5.82 per cent and the Dow tumbled 5.50 per cent on Friday.

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