The Catch Up: 7 April

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
Today is the 7th of April and here are today's headlines.


Domestic benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty plummeted over 5 per cent this morning, following a sharp decline in US futures triggered by United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs last week. The BSE’s 30-share Sensex nosedived 5.19 per cent, dropping 3,914 points to open at 71,449.94. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty slipped 5 per cent, or 1,146.05 points, opening at 21,758.4.

How Asian markets opened? As trading resumed Monday, Asian stock markets crashed and the sell-off was widespread with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropping nearly 8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 falling over 6%, and South Korea’s Kospi shedding 4.4%. Oil prices also continued their downward slide, with the US benchmark crude dropping 4 per cent. The sharp declines followed a massive meltdown on Wall Street on Friday, as Trump’s tariffs and retaliatory measures from China stoked fears of a full-blown trade war and heightened concerns over a potential global economic recession. US companies with significant exposure to China saw some of the steepest losses.


Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Monday said that he will take a call on listing petitions challenging the changes made to the waqf law. The CJI conveyed this to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who brought up the matter before a Supreme Court bench presided by him. Sibal said that a petition had been filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, president of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, a body of Muslim clerics. The CJI pointed out that a system is already in place to request listing of cases by emailing the court and said it should be followed and oral mentioning should be avoided. Sibal said he had sent the email request, following which the CJI said that he will examine it in the afternoon.

As Indian stock markets plunged 5 per cent, the Congress Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that both United States President Donald Trump and he are experts in causing “self-inflicted wounds” to their respective economies. The bloodbath tracking Asian markets came in the wake of concerns over escalation in trade wars following the reciprocal tariff announcements by the US. In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh wrote: “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.”

Ahead of this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to citizens of 14 countries. The government will refrain from the issuance of Umrah, business, and family visit visas until mid-June 2025, which coincides with the conclusion of Hajj. The ban comes amid efforts to manage overcrowding associated with the Hajj pilgrimage and to prevent individuals from attempting to perform Hajj without proper registration, as stated by Saudi officials. This measure aims to avert a recurrence of last year’s Hajj stampede, which resulted from extreme heat and the influx of unregistered pilgrims. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has directed authorities to enhance visa regulations. According to the revised rules, the final day to apply for an Umrah visa this year is April 13, 2025. Furthermore, no new Umrah visas will be issued until after Hajj concludes.

That's all for today. This was the CatchUp on 3 Things by The Indian Express.