Sensex, Nifty extend losses for second straight day as US-China trade war escalates
The broader Nifty ended 0.83 per cent lower at 10,710.45, while the benchmark BSE Sensex closed 0.74 per cent lower at 35,286.74. The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices shed 1 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
The benchmark indices fell for a second straight session on Tuesday, as fears of a global trade war intensified after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 10 per cent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The broader Nifty ended 0.83 per cent lower at 10,710.45, while the benchmark BSE Sensex closed 0.74 per cent lower at 35,286.74. The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices shed 1 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, remained negative. On the BSE, 1,923 stocks declined, 703 stocks rallied, while 150 stocks remained unchanged.
"Escalation in US-China trade tensions global markets and has spared no assets. Markets now fear retaliatory measures from China, which had earlier warned of “qualitative” and “quantitative” measures if the US imposed further tariffs. Rupee’s march beyond 68 also dented sentiments, while VIX rising 4.55 per cent to 12.95 is an indication towards rising volatility expectations," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in auto, metal and banking stocks.
On the Sensex, ITC, HDFC Bank and HDFC gained during the day, whereas Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Tata Motors (DVR) were the major losers.
On the Nifty, Bajaj Finance, Gail and ITC were the highest gainers while Vedanta, Indian Oil Corp and Hindalco Industries lost the most.
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ICICI Bank edged lower after the country`s third largest lender said Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar would go on leave until the completion of a probe over an alleged conflict of interest.
Overseas, Asian stocks wilted to a four-month low and Australia's dollar and South Africa's rand were among a diverse group of currencies caught in the crossfire.
Europe’s main equity benchmarks sank 1 to 1.5 per cent in early trading and Wall Street futures were pointing to similar falls there later, while safe-haven government bonds and the Japanese yen rallied as investors sought protection.
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