Sensex logs 8th straight session of loss

The benchmark Sensex fell for the 8th straight session on Friday after witnessing a heavy volatility over a major escalation in the trade tension between the US and China. The volatility index or the "VIX" surged by 4 per cent reflecting nervousness in the market.

The US on Friday more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, in a sharp escalation of the trade tensions to which China has said that it would respond with necessary counter-measures.

The S&P BSE Sensex shuttled over 350 points before ending lower 95.92 points or 0.26 per cent. The broader Nifty fell 22.90 points or 0.20 over cent lower.

"There is a strong possibility that China will respond to the US tariffs slapped today and this has caused heavy volatility. Markets may not have fell significantly as Trump is known to go back on his words but markets have been under pressure during the whole week," said Saurabh Jain, AVP-Research, SMC Global.

However, Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities said that investors continue to hold on to the hope that both the US and China will strike a deal in order to avoid a full-blown trade war.

Moody's on Friday also said that while "we believe that a trade deal will eventually be reached between the US and China, the risk of a complete breakdown in trade talks has certainly increased".

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 838 crore for Q4 of the last fiscal against a loss of Rs 7,718 crore year-on-year besides witnessing an improvement in asset quality. SBI finished as the top gainer of the day's trade, nearly 3 per cent higher.

Tata Steel fell 6.2 per cent on the feedback received from the European Commission. It is increasingly clear that the Commission is not intending to give a go-ahead to the proposed joint venture between Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp.

Blaming the slowdown in China, Jaguar Land Rover (UK), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, reported retail sales of 39,185 vehicles in April 2019, down 13.3 per cent compared to April 2018, according to a regulatory filing. Tata Motors declined 0.24 per cent following the report.

--IANS

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