Opening Bell - Morning Commentary

Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Colombia – Rattles global markets.

Trump’s abrupt tariff announcement rattled global markets as he ordered his administration to impose tariffs and sanctions on Colombia hours after its president refused to allow two military planes carrying deported migrants to land, punishing a US security partner for stepping even partially out of line with his immigration goals.

Investors were lulled into a false sense of security when he refrained last week from immediately imposing tariffs on major trading partners, including China.

Scrutiny of U.S. tech is intensifying as ripples from a Chinese AI startup called DeepSeek spread. DeepSeek recently launched a free, open-source AI model that claims to be at least equal to more established models like ChatGPT on many levels but built at a fraction of the cost.

Indian markets are under pressure as concerns about slowing earnings growth and foreign fund outflows overshadowed President Trump's calls for lower oil prices and immediate Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Benchmark indices declined for the third consecutive week, dropping approximately 0.5%.

An official survey showed on Monday that China's January non-manufacturing activity grew slower than in December, suggesting policymakers need to introduce even more stimulus measures to prop up depressed domestic demand.

Market data suggest maintaining a cautious stance. A decisive break below 23000 could trigger further long unwinding, potentially pushing the Nifty toward 22,700-22,800 levels, followed by 22500 levels. Any close below 23000 or above 23500 would extenuate the trend in that direction.