Sensex, Nifty Turn Choppy On Tepid Global Cues

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a choppy note on Thursday as global investors turned cautious over US President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Retreating from its record high, the 30-share BSE index was trading 24.89 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 41,533.68 in opening session.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 7.60 points or 0.06 per cent to 12,214.30. Yes Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack falling up to 2.46 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel.

On the other hand, M&M was the top gainer, rising up to 1.26 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, TCS and HUL were also trading in the green.

In the previous session, the 30-share gauge settled 206.40 points, or 0.50 per cent, up at its all-time closing high of 41,558.57, and the Nifty advanced 56.65 points, or 0.47 per cent, to its record closing peak of 12,221.65.

According to traders, global investors turned cautious after US Donald Trump became the third President in US history to be impeached.

The House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstructing the Congress, setting up a Senate trial next year that will decide whether he remains in office after three tumultuous years.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,836.81 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,267.57 crore on Wednesday, data available with stock exchange showed.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a negative note. Benchmarks on Wall Street ended flat on Wednesday.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.02 per cent to USD 66.16 per barrel. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated marginally to 70.98 against the US dollar in morning session.