Sensex falls 352 points on trade war fears

The broader NSE Nifty, after scaling the day’s high of 10,279.85, slipped into the negative terrain to 10,111.30 before closing at 10,128.40, down by 116.60 points, or 1.14 per cent.

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The 30-share Sensex opened positive and advanced to a high of 33,505.53 but succumbed to a sudden sell-off in the afternoon, hitting a low of 32,972.56.

The benchmark Sensex on Wednesday plunged by 352 points amid escalating trade war worries as the sentiment across global markets was hit after China said it was ready to take countermeasures in retaliation against the new round of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Further, investors were also cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy review on Thursday.

The 30-share Sensex opened positive and advanced to a high of 33,505.53 but succumbed to a sudden sell-off in the afternoon, hitting a low of 32,972.56. It finally ended 351.56 points or 1.05 per cent down at 33,019.07 on the eve of the RBI’s monetary policy announcement. This is the benchmark’s biggest fall since March 23, when it had lost 409.73 points.

The broader NSE Nifty, after scaling the day’s high of 10,279.85, slipped into the negative terrain to 10,111.30 before closing at 10,128.40, down by 116.60 points, or 1.14 per cent.

Vinod Nair, head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “the market slid 2 per cent from the day’s high due to looming trade war tensions and caution ahead of RBI policy meet. Global market volatility continued to give a ripple effect to the market despite gradual recovery in domestic economy and moderation in inflation. The RBI’s policy is likely to support near term sentiment…”

“The market witnessed a complete nosedive in the late afternoon after some fresh worries arising on the global trade war. Eventually, a sustained selling resulted into a sharp cut of more than a percent from its previous close, said Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel Broking.

Global stock markets also fell as unnerving investors were reluctant to take positions in anything but the safest of assets.

Boeing and Caterpillar led a slide in big US manufacturers and technology companies that bore the brunt of the deepening US-China trade spat, while Germany’s exporter-heavy DAX index fell more than its large European counterparts.

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China’s retaliation came after trading hours for Japan’s Nikkei, which added 0.2 per cent in thin volume, while Chinese blue chips ended down 0.2 per cent.

MSCI’s all-country world index of stock performance in 47 countries shed 0.45 per cent, cutting about half earlier losses. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading regional shares lost 0.43 per cent.

The FTSE index closed up 0.05 per cent, while the DAX closed down 0.39 per cent and France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.18 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145.05 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 23,888.31. The S&P 500 lost 8.86 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,605.59 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 6.37 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,934.92. WITH REUTERS