Markets may start in the red amid negative cues from Asian peers

Stock markets in India are likely to take a breather on the back of sell-off seen in the Asian markets. This was on the backdrop of the Trump administration releasing a list of 10 per cent tariffs on additional US$200 billion of Chinese products, marking a sharp escalation in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Nifty 50 index future on the Singapore stock exchange is currently trading with a loss of 25 points at 10,933.   

Asian shares are a sea of red on Wednesday on the back of the release of a list of additional $200 billion tariffs on Chinese goods. China’s Shanghai Composite has tumbled 1.50%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has lost 1.40% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has fallen 1.19%.  

Back home, Indian markets continued to notch up gains for the third day in a row with the Nifty and BSE Sensex climbing 0.87% and 0.85%, respectively, thereby ending over 5-month high on Tuesday. Buying interest was seen in the broader markets as well with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap indices gaining 0.72% and 1.38%, respectively. On the sectoral front, apart from Nifty Pharma, all major indices ended in the positive territory. Among the top performers were Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal.  

The US stocks logged a fourth straight finish firmly in the green on Tuesday as Wall Street overshadowed recent trade concerns and showed optimism about the upcoming earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 143 points at 24,920, the S&P 500 index rose 10 points to finish at 2,794, reaching its highest close in five months, and the Nasdaq Composite index inched up 3 points to end at 7,759.  

The markets in Europe ended Tuesday’s session on a positive note as traders focused on upcoming corporate earnings. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.53%, CAC 40 of France gained 0.67% and UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.05%.