Market turns cautious amid weak global cues as G20 meet begins

Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started on a cautious note on Friday amid weak cues from global equities as the G20 Summit began in Japan.

The 30-share index was trading 39.58 points, or 0.10 per cent, lower at 39,546.83 at 0940 hours. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was quoting a mere 2.85 points, or 0.02 per cent, down at 11,838.70.

In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE gauge settled 5.67 points, or 0.01 per cent, lower at 39,586.41 and Nifty slipped 6 points, or 0.05 per cent, to end at 11,841.55.

Top losers in the Sensex pack were Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, M&M, RIL, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank, shedding up to 1.09 per cent. While, TechM, Sun Pharma, L&T, Maruti, PowerGrid, NTPC, Infosys and ITC rose up to 1.45 per cent.

According to experts, global investors are awaiting progress in US-China trade talks at the G-20 Summit scheduled to be held in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29. Domestic investors are also tracking the summit for cues on India-US trade concerns, traders said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a "productive" trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe, and extensively discussed issues of the Indo-Pacific region, connectivity and infrastructure development ahead of the formal opening of the G-20 Summit.

Globally, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi were trading in the red in their respective early sessions.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 71 lakh, while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 196.57 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed Thursday.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee appreciated 11 paise to 68.96 against the US dollar.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.38 per cent to 65.42 per barrel.