Markets tumble again; Sensex tanks 300 pts, Nifty falls 99 pts

New Delhi: The domestic indices ended nearly 1 percent lower on Monday taking cues from its Asian counterparts.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,747, down 300 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,359, down 99 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index settled 3.28 percent lower led by a fall in shares steel firms. The Nifty Auto index too slipped 1.57 percent due to a fall in Tata Motors and Motherson Sumi Systems.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium products, in a move he said would protect US industry. Experts say the move could hurt US producers and face legal challenges from trade partners.

In economic data, business conditions in India’s service sector deteriorated modestly in February, Nikkei PMI data for services showed on Monday. Activity and new work declined for the first time since November, with rates of contraction the fastest since August. 

The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell from 51.7 in January to 47.8 in February, its lowest level since August. The headline figure signalled the first fall in output for three months, but one that was modest. Panellists commented that poor underlying demand conditions had weighed on activity.

Asian investors dumped shares and drove to the safety of the yen and gold on Monday amid fears of a global trade war and worries of political uncertainty in Italy, risks that cloud the outlook for world growth.

The spectre of a global trade war hit risk appetite, sending MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.8 percent to the lowest since mid-February.

Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.7 percent lower at 21,042.09 while South Korea’s KOSPI faltered 1.1 percent.

(With agency inputs)