Sensex, Nifty cautious in early trade amid weak global cues, fund outflows

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were trading on a cautious note in morning trade on Wednesday amid growing uncertainty over US-China trade talks and unabated foreign fund outflows. The 30-share index was trading 36.04 points or 0.10 percent higher at 37,568.02 in the early trade; while the broader Nifty was almost flat with a positive bias at 11,127.40, showing a marginal gain of 1.00 points or 0.01 percent.

Top Sensex gainers in the early sessions included ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, L&T, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, and HDFC Bank, rising up to 1.39 percent. On the other hand, top losers were Yes Bank, HCL Tech, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Tata Steel, and Infosys, falling up to 8.33 percent.

Stock markets were closed on Tuesday on account of 'Dussehra'. On Monday, the Sensex settled at 37,531.98 points, down by 141.33 points or 0.38 percent as 24 of its components posted losses. Broader NSE Nifty dropped by 48.35 points or 0.43 percent to close at 11,126.40.

Ahead of scheduled high-level trade talks between the US and Chinese officials on Thursday, Washington announced restrictions on 28 Chinese entities over human rights violations. The fresh developments weighed heavily on investors' sentiments globally. In addition, the International Monetary Fund has forecasted the weakest growth in a decade following tariff disputes.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in equities, offloaded shares worth Rs 494.21 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. On Friday, FPIs had sold equities worth Rs 682.93 crore on a net basis. The rupee, meanwhile, depreciated by 9 paise to 71.11 against the US dollar in early session.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo were trading lower, while those in Seoul were trading in the green. Shares on Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.33 percent to USD 58.05 per barrel.