Sensex, Nifty start on tepid note on weak global cues

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a cautious note on Wednesday as weakness in global equities led by uncertainty over US-China trade deal and political unrest in Hong Kong kept investors on edge.

After jumping over 100 points in opening session, the 30-share index pared gains to trade 19.98 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 40,365.06.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 9.40 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 11,922.85.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Yes Bank, TCS, RIL, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, HUL and HDFC Bank, rising up to 2.05 per cent.

On the other hand, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC and ITC fell up to 1.37 per cent.

On Monday, the Sensex ended 21.47 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 40,345.08. Similarly, the Nifty closed with a gain of mere 5.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 11,913.45.

Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 664.20 crore in the capital market in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 245.06 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Indian financial market will remain closed on Tuesday for "Guru Nanak Jayanti".

According to traders, weak factory output numbers and negative cues from other Asian equities weighed on investor sentiment.

Showing signs of sluggishness in the economy, industrial production shrank by 4.3 per cent in September, registering the weakest performance in seven years due to output decline in manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, as per official data released on Monday.

According to the Central Statistics Office data, 4.3 per cent contraction is the lowest in 2011-12 series of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which was unveiled in May 2017. The IIP had declined by 0.7 per cent in April, 2012.

Factory output, measured in terms of IIP, had expanded by 4.6 per cent in September 2018.

Market is now awaiting cues from consumer price inflation data, which is scheduled to be released later in the day.

On the global front, spooking global investors, US President Donald Trump dubbed China a cheater on trade even as he seeks an initial settlement to calm an 18-month trade war, raising questions over the much-anticipated truce deal.

Globally, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading up to 1.76 per cent lower amid political protests in Hong Kong.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a positive note on Tuesday.

On the currency front, the rupee also depreciated 19 paise (intra-day) against the US dollar to trade at 71.66 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.29 per cent to USD 61.88 per barrel.