Markets skid on trade turbulence, macro risks

Stocks surrendered early gains to finish with losses today as lingering worries over global trade and lack of definitive domestic triggers held investors back.

Unabated capital outflows by foreign funds and a weakening rupee too weighed on sentiment, brokers said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex, which rose over 131 points in morning trade, soon lost momentum in choppy trade. It finally ended at 35,432.39, down 114.94 points, or 0.32 per cent.

The broader NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,809.60 and 10,725.90, finished 30.95 points, or 0.29 per cent lower at 10,741.10.

Most Asian and European markets traded lower on uncertainties surrounding US-China trade relations.

Meanwhile, India slapped retaliatory tariffs on a clutch of goods imported from the US, joining the EU and China in taking counter-measures against duties imposed by the Trump administration.

Minutes of RBI's June policy meeting, released after market hours on Wednesday, flagged inflation risks on the back of factors like firm oil prices and volatile global financial markets, which further sapped confidence.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,442.61 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,473.65 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

"Market continued to be under pressure as trade tensions between the US and China is getting escalated.

"Emerging markets including India were under-performing due to FII selling. OPEC meeting tomorrow will be a key event, relaxation in production cuts will provide some relief to Indian markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Bucking the trend, Reliance Industries continued its upward trajectory, spurting 1.22 per cent to a fresh closing high of Rs 1,032.35.

Other index gainers were ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys.

However, M&M emerged as the biggest loser in the Sensex pack by falling 2.11 per cent, followed by ONGC 1.90 per cent, PowerGrid 1.88 per cent, SBI 1.67 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.67 per cent, Asian Paints 1.39 per cent and Bajaj Auto 1.37 per cent, among others.

Among the sectoral indices, healthcare fell 1.11 per cent, capital goods 1.09 per cent, metal 0.98 per cent, infrastructure 0.93 per cent, power 0.91 per cent, auto 0.90 per cent, PSU 0.85 per cent, consumer durables 0.84 per cent, FMCG 0.58 per cent, realty 0.51 per cent, bankex 0.38 per cent, teck 0.31 per cent and IT 0.12 per cent.

Oil and gas, however, managed to end in the green, inching up 0.60 per cent.

The broader markets too came under selling pressure. The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices fell by 0.79 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

Shares of Bank of Maharashtra slumped 1.19 per cent following the arrest of its chief executive officer in a cheating case.

Globally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.35 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.37 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.61 per cent.

In the Eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX dropped 0.51 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 lost 0.21 per cent in early deals. London's FTSE was up 0.05 per cent.