Sensex opens below 34,000; Nifty holds above 10,200

New Delhi: Markets opened in the negative zone on Tuesday on weak global cues after posting a significant rally yesterday.

The BSE Sensex opened below 34,000 but the NSE Nifty held on to 10,200. The 30-share index was down 52.42 points or 0.15 percent at 34,014.98 and the NSE Nifty went lower by 32.20 points or 0.31 percent in early trade.

Shares of Oil marketing companies took a hit on rising crude oil prices. Front-month Brent crude oil futures were at $76.78 a barrel at 0040 GMT, down 56 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $66.78 a barrel, down 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last settlement, a Reuters report said.

Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), sold shares worth a net of Rs 2,230.79 crore and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,526.90 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

The rupee also witnessed weakness, falling 16 paise to 73.61 against the US dollar in early trade, amid increased demand of the American currencies from importers and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Global investor sentiment turned volatile after reports that the United States was preparing to announce tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports by early December if talks next month between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping fail to ease the trade war.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.3 percent. Shanghai shares fell 0.6 percent in early trade while Japan`s Nikkei average rose 0.7 percent, clawing back earlier losses in a volatile session.

With Agency Inputs