Equity gauges flat in early hours amid volatile trade

Equity benchmark indices erased opening gains during early hours on Friday with auto stocks on the decline amid volatile trading.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was down 72 points at 38,751 while the Nifty 50 was down 25 points to 11,558.

Among stocks, Wipro slipped 2.2 per cent to Rs 261.85 per share while JSW Steel was down 1.6 per cent to Rs 262.90 apiece. Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors and Indiabulls Housing Finance also traded in the red.

However, UPL gained 1.8 per cent while Sun Pharma was up 1.6 per cent. NTPC, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries showed some gains.

Meanwhile, Asian shares pulled back as worries over renewed US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China was not living up to promises it made on buying agricultural products from American farmers.

Investors awaited the release of June trade data from China while expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month kept losses in check.