Sensex, Nifty turn choppy on global rising trade war concerns

Benchmark indices turned volatile in early trade Tuesday on escalating global trade concerns after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on an additional USD 200 billion worth of imports from China.

The 30-share BSE index gained 159.93 points, or 0.42 per cent in opening trade, but soon turned choppy falling 37.10 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 37,548.41.

The gauge had lost 505.13 points in the previous session as rupee woes and trade war worries spooked investors despite the government announcing measures to stem a steep fall in the domestic currency.

The NSE Nifty, too, turned negative and was trading 10.60 points, or 0.09 per cent, lower at 11,367.15.

Investors were cautious after US President Donald Trump Monday announced imposition of new tariffs on an additional USD 200 billion worth of imports from China, escalating the trade war with the Asian giant.

Alleging that China has been unwilling to change its unfair trade practices, Trump said the new additional tariff structure would be effective September 24 from when it would be at 10 per cent until the year end, but would increase to 25 per cent level from January 1.

Top losers include Vedanta, Tata Motors, PowerGrid, SBI, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and HDFC falling up to 1.60 per cent.

While HUL, Asian Paints, Yes Bank, M&M, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Tata Steel and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers, rising up to 3.06 per cent.

Shares of Bank of Baroda (BoB) cracked nearly 10 per cent, while Vijaya Bank rose over 3 per cent, and Dena Bank rallied up to 20 per cent after the government Monday said the three banks will be merged to create the country's third largest lender as part of efforts to revive credit and economic growth.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 180.36 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also offloaded shares to the tune of Rs 106.54 crore Monday, provisional data showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.07 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.79 per cent in early deals. Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.12 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.35 per cent lower Monday.