Sensex logs 5th straight loss, plummets 324 points

Mumbai: Benchmark indices fell for the fifth session in a row on Tuesday, with the Sensex plunging 324 points and the Nifty diving over 100 points as investors continued to weigh US-China trade tiff and lukewarm corporate results.

Indian bourses after starting the session on a high came under heavy selling pressure as domestic investors' sentiment took a beating after IMF chief Christine Lagarde said US-China tensions were a 'threat' to world economy.

The Sensex was mainly dragged by Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries -- shedding as much as 4.60 per cent.

The quarterly results of ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel failed to attract investors and both the companies saw constant sell-offs during the session.

The 30-share index ended 323.71 points, or 0.84 per cent, lower at 38,276.63. The BSE index hit an intra-day low of 38,236.18 and a high of 38,835.54.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty dropped 100.35 points to settle below the 11,500 level at 11,497.90. During the day, the bourse hit a low of 11,484.45 and a high of 11,657.05.

In the Sensex pack, HUL, L&T, PowerGrid, Infosys, ONGC and Bajaj Auto ended up to 1.37 per cent higher.

"Indian market has been on a shaky ground for the past couple of days driven by ambiguity associated with the US-China trade negotiations and less-than-inspiring ongoing corporate earnings season," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Senior VP and Head of Research (Wealth), Centrum Broking.

Global markets have been rattled by the concerns over the health of the world economy ever since US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to hike tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Meanwhile, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said fresh trade tensions between the US and China were the main threat to the world economy, adding that recent "rumours and tweets" made an agreement between the countries less likely.

Chinese bourses, however, recovered with Shanghai Composite Index ending in the green. Equities in Japan and Korea closed in the red.

European stocks were also trading lower in early trade.

The Indian rupee was trading flat at 69.39 against the US dollar intra-day.

Global benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.74 per cent lower at USD 70.71 per barrel.