Indian equity indices witnessed a sudden fall in afternoon trade. The NSE Nifty 50 was down 200 points, or 0.82%, at 24,934, while the BSE Sensex was down 687 points, or 0.83%, at 81,828.
In line with the overall markets, Bank Nifty opened 23 points or 0.04% lower at 56,436. The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 19 points, or 0.03%, to open at 59,368.
“The recent flattish trend in the market is likely to continue in the near term since there are no clear positive triggers that can push the market much higher. There are reports of a possible agreement between the U.S. and China. But the Chinese haven’t officially confirmed anything. President Trump is talking about a 55% tariff on China and a 10% tariff on the US President Trump’s credibility being what it is, it would be too early to discount this as positive for markets,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
“If bears are able to drag the index below the 24987 – 25029 zone, a test of the 24800 – 24863 area will become a high probability event. Global factors are not supportive this morning with US futures in the red due to the escalation involving Iran and the lack of upside surprises from US-China trade talks,” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities.
Here are key highlights from the early session-
Top performers leading the charge
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were ONGC, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Bajaj Finserv, and Sun Pharma. The top movers in the Nifty 50 were HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, and ONGC as soon as markets opened.
Stocks in the red
The stocks that remained under pressure included Infosys, Zomato, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Wipro were the only laggards in the morning trade.
US-China trade talks conclude
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that both countries have reached a trade agreement. This includes the ease of tariffs imposed by the US and curbs imposed by Beijing on the export of rare earth minerals and magnets. “Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,” Trump said on a social media post. “We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!” Trump wrote.