Indian stock benchmarks open flat after Trump threatens pharma tariffs
India's equity benchmarks opened little changed on Wednesday, with investor caution deepening after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on pharma imports, a key export for the Asian economy.
The Nifty 50 
NIFTY fell 0.03% to 25,514.6 points while the BSE Sensex 
SENSEX lost 0.1% to 83,625.89, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Seven of the 13 major sectors logged losses at the open. The broader, more domestically focussed small-caps 
CNXSMALLCAP and mid-caps CNXMIDCAP were flat.
The pharma index 
CNXPHARMA fell 0.3% after Trump threatened a 200% tariff on pharma products, broadening his trade war that has rattled markets worldwide.
The U.S. accounts for nearly a third of India's pharma exports, which rose 16% to about $9 billion in the last fiscal year, according to government-backed trade body Pharmexcil.
The U.S. will "pretty soon" charge a 10% tariff on imports from the BRICS countries, Trump also said, putting India, which is a part of the bloc, in the crosshairs.
