Sensex, Nifty turn cautious amid weak global cues

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex opened on a negative note on Tuesday as investors turned cautious after US President Donald said he was likely to go ahead with a tariff hike on Chinese goods.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 27.28 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 35,326.80.

The NSE Nifty too witnessed similar movement, and was trading 18.70 points, or 0.18 per cent, lower at 10,609.90.

According to analysts, investors remain cautious due to uncertainty over US-China trade war, domestic state elections and dimming global outlook on account of sharp fall in oil prices.

Top losers include Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, HUL, ITC, M&M, NTPC, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, falling up to 1.93 per cent.

While top gainers include Yes Bank, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Tata Motors, RIL, TCS, SBI and Axis Bank.

On the macro front, the rupee depreciated 15 paise to 71.02 against the US dollar in early trade at the interbank foreign exchange.

Crude oil prices fell further as Saudi Arabia raised oil production to an all-time high in November amid caution ahead of the G20 and Opec meetings.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 62.74 crore Monday and DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 351.78 crore, provisional data available with BSE suggested.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.46 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.42 per cent, while Taiwan's benchmark index fell 0.18 per cent.

In the US, Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 354.29 points, or 1.46 per cent, to 24,640.24 on Monday.