Sensex Falls Over 100 Points; Auto, Energy Stocks Lead Losses

Indian  stock markets started Tuesday's session on a lower note with the Sensex falling over 100 points in early trade, amid weakness in Asian peers on US-China trade concerns. 

The Sensex fell as much as 124 points to touch 35,532 on the downside, while the Nifty hit 10,616, down 44 points from the previous close. 

Automobile and energy stocks led the losses in the markets, while some strength in media and state-run banking stocks kept the downside in check.

At 9:38 am, the Sensex traded down 56 points at 35,600, while the Nifty was at 10,654, 7 points lower from the previous close.

GAIL, Indiabulls Housing Finance, PowerGrid, UPL and Infosys - trading between 0.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent lower - were among the top laggards on the 50-scrip index.

Bank of India shares declined as much as 5.6 per cent, a day after the state-run lender reported its biggest quarterly loss in at least 13 years. Bank of India's net loss stood at Rs. 4,738 crore on higher provisions for bad loans.

Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday asked public sector banks to increase lending to small businesses. The state-run banks agreed to step up their efforts to finance the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, aimed at securing housing for all by 2022.

On the other hand, Zee Entertainment Enterprises shares - which have been gaining ground since a sharp plunge last week - rose as much as 2 per cent to touch an intraday high of Rs. 380.95 apiece on the NSE.

Zee and Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra said on Monday that the company has successfully arrived at an understanding with lenders to whom the shares held by the group's promoters have been pledged.

The domestic markets took negative cues from Asian peers, where equities stumbled with Japan's Nikkei sliding about 1 per cent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan got off to a shaky start with losses accelerating as other regional markets opened.

Australia and New Zealand led the losses, with their benchmark indices down 0.7 per cent each while South Korea's KOSPI was off 0.3 per cent. Chinese shares opened in the red too, with the blue-chip index down 0.2 per cent.

The prospects for a long-awaited China-US trade deal suffered another blow after the United States levelled sweeping criminal charges against China's telecom giant Huawei.(Agencies)