India's equities fell by 478 points, or 0.6%, to 80,973 in early trading on Monday, marking the second consecutive session of losses, primarily dragged down by the metal sector. The decline followed President Trump's announcement on Friday of plans to raise steel import tariffs from 25% to 50%, effective Wednesday. The Nifty 50 also dropped 0.6% to below 24,650, with the Nifty Metal index falling 1.1%, led by declines in JSW Steel (-2.0%) and Tata Steel (-1.7%). Meanwhile, the tech sector slipped 0.6%, with Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro falling by 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. On the data front, India's manufacturing sector growth was revised lower to a three-month low in May. However, solid domestic economic data helped limit the losses, as easing inflation and robust GDP growth fueled optimism that the Reserve Bank of India may cut interest rates at its policy meeting later this week. Additionally, foreign fund inflows helped prevent the BSE Sensex from falling further.