Sensex, Nifty end flat as rising US-China tensions spook global markets

Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note on Friday amid weak global equities. Sensex closed 11 points lower at 38,128 and Nifty fell 21 points at 11,194.  During the week,  Sensex and Nifty gained 3% and 2.6%, respectively. Both indices have gained more than 33% each since India first went into lockdown in late March.

Barring IT, all other indices closed in the red today, with highest losses logged in metal and banking stocks. Axis Bank, Asian Paints, SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank were top losers. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were among the gainers

Domestic indices traded lower, in line with weak Asian cues, as investor sentiments were cautious amid escalating US-China tensions and rising numbers of coronavirus cases worldwide.

Meanwhile, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, CCL Products, Crompton Greaves Consumer, Welspun India, Atul, GHCL are among the top companies that reported their April-June quarterly earnings during today's session.

Overseas, markets slipped from five-year highs, followed by over 3% drop in China's Shenzhen stocks amid rising US-China tensions. China announced on Friday that it's revoking the licence for the US consulate general in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, following earlier reports of US demanding the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. Following weak cues, European markets also dropped over 1% each today.

On the currency front, Indian Rupee ended weak against the US dollar at 74.94 as compared to the last closing of 74.76 per dollar.

Expressing views on the week's rally, Hemant Kanawala, Head - Equity, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance said," Shrugging off the weakness seen last week, markets rallied sharply with Nifty returning 4 .8% and Midcap index rising 2.6% on the back of 1) far stronger than anticipated results in Q1FY21 from banks; 2) return of foreign flows (USD 442 million over the last week) 3) news relating progress in government disinvestment (BPCL) and foreign investment commitments (Jio platforms, Google announcement)."

On Nifty's outlook, Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO Samco Group said," We continue to maintain a cautiously bullish outlook on Nifty with immediate support and resistance placed at 11000 and 11240 respectively. However, a break below 10900 may lead to short term weakness."

Worldwide, the number of cases linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.54 crore and death toll has surpassed 6.32 lakh. In India, cases increased by more than 49,000 in the last 24 hours with total cases now at 12.88 lakh. The death toll due the disease rose to 0.30 lakh and the recoveries saw the biggest single-day rise of 34,602 to 8.17 lakh.

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