Sensex, Nifty flat in opening trade, Vedanta shares down over 3%

The BSE Sensex turned negative after opening 76 points higher in early session on Monday, amid weak global cues on rising concerns of a global trade war.

At 9.30 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 12.56 points or 0.04% higher at 35,634.70, while the broader NSE Nifty was up 4.30 points or 0.04% to 10,822.00.

Vedanta, Tata Steel, Coal India, Kotak Bank, PowerGrid, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank and Infosys were among the top index losers, shedding up to 3 per cent.

On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, M&M, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers, rising up to 2%.

Sectoral indices led by metals, banking and realty stocks fell by up to 2%.

Investor sentiment turned weak after US President Donald Trump on Friday slapped a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, as he accused Beijing of intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices, triggering a full-fledged trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Reacting to Trump’s latest announcement, China said it has imposed “equal” tariffs on US products.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 561.01 crore on Friday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,524.74 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Brent crude was down 1.08% to $72.65, while WTI oil fell 1.86% to $63.85 a barrel in Asian trade.

Elsewhere in Asia, most financial markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei are closed for public holidays. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.04% in early trade today.

The US dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.34% down on Friday.