Indian stock markets started on a muted tone in early trade on Tuesday after experiencing fall for four successive days as the deadline to close a trade deal with the US nears closer and foreign outflows continue to hurt demand.
While the BSE Sensex was at 80,924.62, up 0.04 per cent; Nifty 50 was at 24,703, up 0.09 per cent. The indexes hit their lowest since June 13 earlier in the session.
While the broader mid-cap and small-caps were little changed, heavyweight financials and Information Technology (IT) sectors were down 0.2 and 0.5 per cent respectively.
Also Read: 'India will lose ₹4,060-cr revenue in 1st year of UK trade pact'
Ten of the 16 major sectors saw a rise in early trade.
Analysts predicted more headwinds coming in, saying the major issue weighing on markets is the proposed India-US trade deal.
“There are more headwinds than tailwinds for now. The major issue weighing on markets is that the expected trade deal between India and the U.S. has not happened so far,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.
India and the United States have been engaged in discussions to finalise a trade deal before the August 1 deadline, even as India has dug its heels when it comes to opening up its dairy and agriculture sectors, which it remains protective about. Reuters had reported dimming hopes of an agreement finalisation before the deadline ends, citing two Indian government sources.
US President Donald Trump had reiterated trade threats on Monday, saying trading partners who do not negotiate separate deals will inevitably face tariffs of 15 per cent to 20 per cent on their exports to the US. India is hoping to have the 26 per cent tariff imposition threat removed even while it continues to pay the 10 per cent baseline tariffs on exports to the US.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold Indian shares worth 60.81 billion rupees on Monday, as per provisional data, marking their biggest selling in India since May 30.
Among stocks, IndusInd Bank rose about 1 per cent after the private lender released its first quarter earnings that showed profit.
Follow us
