Sensex rises 30 pts, Nifty closes flat at 10,331 amid lower global markets after US imposes extra $100 bn in tariffs on Chinese goods

The Sensex ended marginally higher in see-saw trade today, helped by a late buying spell in pharma, energy and banking stocks amid lacklustre global cues.

Investors were not keen to expand their portfolios ahead of the corporate earnings season, brokers said.

The 30-share index, moving in a tight range for the better part of the session on scattered deals, hit a low of 33,501.37 and a high of 33,697.51 before finishing at 33,626.97 points, up 30.17 points or 0.09 per cent.

Anand Shah, deputy CEO and head of investments at BNP Paribas Mutual Fund said, "After the stellar rally witnessed yesterday, markets in India took a breather in today's trade. Benchmark indices traded the day in a narrow range with a negative bias. The sentiment was subdued overseas as well after President Donald Trump instructed the US trade representative to consider levying an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. The latest move further fuels a growing trade dispute between the two countries. Previously, the United States had announced $50 billion in proposed tariffs on goods imported from China, in response to which the Chinese announced about $50 billion in proposed tariffs on US goods. At home, both the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty finally closed the day near the flat line. On the sectoral front, while the Information Technology (IT) and metals indices traded in the red, the healthcare, banking and auto indices witnessed gains."

The gauge had soared almost 578 points in the previous session after the RBI kept the policy rate unchanged but said growth will rebound this fiscal amid softening inflation.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 6.45 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 10,331.60. Intra-day, it shuttled between 10,290.85 and 10,350.45.

On a weekly basis, the BSE Sensex scored a smart gain of 658.29 points, or 1.99 per cent while the NSE Nifty rose 217.90 points, or 2.15 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 615.28 crore yesterday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 108.02 crore, according to provisional data.

Global markets

World stock markets slid Friday after Beijing vowed to fight back against the Trump administration's latest threats of yet more tariffs on Chinese imports, renewing investor fears of a brewing trade battle between the world's two biggest economies.

European shares fell in early trading. France's CAC 40 lost 0.6 percent to 5,246.95 and Germany's DAX shed 0.8 percent to 12,207.37. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent to 7,182.98. Wall Street was poised to open sharply lower. Dow futures skidded 0.9 percent to 24,255.00 and broader S&P 500 futures sank 0.8 percent to 2,641.00.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.4 percent to close at 21,567.52, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.3 percent to 2,429.58. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was flat at 5,788.70, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 29,844.94 after trading resumed following a holiday as investors caught up with the previous day's global gains. Singapore's share index rose, while those in Indonesia, the Philippines and India fell. Mainland Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday.