Markets open in red as Asian shares falter

New Delhi: Markets opened on flat to negative note on Tuesday amidst weak global cues.

The BSE Sensex dropped 72.72 points or 0.20 percent to 35,583.98 while the NSE Nifty dropped 19.70 points or 0.18 percent to 10,641.85.

In morning session on Tuesday, PowerGrid, RIL, Infosys, HDFC Bank, L&T, Yes Bank, HUL, NTPC and Coal India were among the top losers, falling up to 1.60 percent. While, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Motors, and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers, rising up to 1.60 percent.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth a net of Rs 223.44 crore Monday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 92.32 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

On Monday, the Sensex plunged 368 points to close at 35,656.70; and the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 119 points to end at 10,661.55.

Asian shares faltered and the dollar hovered near two-week lows as prospects for a Sino-US trade deal was dealt a blow after the United States charged Chinese telecom firm Huawei with bank fraud and for conspiring to steal trade secrets, a Reuters report said.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.5 percent with Australia`s benchmark index down 0.7 percent and South Korea`s KOSPI off 0.6 percent. Japan`s Nikkei slid over 1 percent. US stock futures also lost ground following from a torrid overnight session on Wall Street, with E-Minis for the S&P 500 down 0.5 percent.

With Agency Inputs