BSE Sensex falls over 200 points in opening trade as US-China tensions roil global markets

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 200 points and the NSE Nifty dropped below the 11,300 mark in early trade Thursday tracking weak cues from global markets as US-China trade tiff continued to roil investor sentiment. Ahead of the crucial 11th round of talks aimed at ending the trade war between the world's two largest economies, scheduled for May 9-10 in Washington, China has said it will retaliate if US raises tariffs on Chinese products.

The comments come after US President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods earlier this week.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading significantly lower in early trade. Following suit, the 30-share index was trading 212.08 points, or 0.56 per cent, lower at 37,577.05.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was down 63.15 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 11,296.30 . Among the top losers in early session were RIL, NTPC, PowerGrid, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance and HDFC twins, falling up to 2.60 per cent.

On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, L&T and Maruti rose up to 1.44 per cent. In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE bourse plunged 487.50 points, or 1.27 per cent, to end at 37,789.13; while the broader Nifty sank 138.45 points, or 1,20 per cent, to 11,359.45.

Investor sentiment remained weak amid rising tension between the US and China, traders said, adding that sustained foreign fund outflow to dampened market mood here.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equity worth Rs 701.50 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares to the tune of Rs 232.95 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. According to Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, the market is expected to remain volatile till any clarity emerges on the progress in US China trade war and the election results in India.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 16 paise to 69.87 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.75 per cent lower at USD 69.84 per barrel. On Wall Street, S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite indices ended lower on Wednesday.