Domestic stock markets started Tuesday’s session on a flat note amid lacklustre movement across Asian markets, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to increase around the globe. The S&P BSE Sensex index opened 33.92 points – or 0.09 per cent – higher at 38,084.70 and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark started the day at 11,259.80 , up 12.70 points – or 0.11 per cent – from its previous close.
Equities on other Asian markets inched up on Tuesday as tensions between the US and China, the world’s largest two economies, weighed on optimism generated by Wall Street’s tech-driven rally.
The Donald Trump administration announced on Monday it would further tighten restrictions on China’s Huawei Technologies, aimed at cracking down on its access to commercially available chips.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.03 per cent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 0.54 per cent.
While China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.03 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI barometers were down 0.11 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures traded 0.01 per cent higher at the time, indicating a flat start for US markets on Tuesday, a day after the Nasdaq surged to a record high close and the S&P 500 approached its own record level, both lifted by technology stocks.
On Monday, the Sensex had ended 173.44 points – or 0.46 per cent – higher at 38,050.78, and the Nifty settled at 11,247.10 up 68.70 points – or 0.61 per cent – from its previous close, as the indices snapped three days of losses.
