Summary: US-China trade tensions will be the biggest driver for indices on Tuesday along with volatile crude oil prices and March quarter earnings. China on Monday retaliated against Washington’s decision to hike tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and ordered higher tariffs on $60 billion of US goods. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation, which touched a six month high of 2.92 per cent in April, is likely to weigh on investor sentiment. Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation numbers, due for release today, is also expected to inch up. The domestic equity market fell for the ninth consecutive session on Monday. The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 372 points to settle at 37,091 levels, while the Nifty50 plummeted 131 points to give up 11,200 mark and close at 11,148. The rupee closed at Rs 70.52 per dollar, down 61 paise against Friday’s close of Rs 69.91. CORPORATE RESULTS Of the 60 companies that are scheduled to announce their Q4 earnings for 2018-19, Indian Bank, Nestle India, Union Bank of India and Zee Entertainment will be in focus. GLOBAL CUES Shares in Asia extended losses on Tuesday following sharp falls on Wall Street overnight as the trade war between two major world economies escalated. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent, touching its lowest level since February 15. Australian shares were also down by 1.2 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei stock index slid 1.9 per cent. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.38 per cent to 25,325, the S&P 500 lost 2.41 per cent to 2,812 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.41 per cent to 7,647 levels. OIL PRICES Oil prices inched higher on Tuesday. At 07:00 am, Brent crude futures were trading at $70.31 a barrel, up 0.11 per cent while WTI futures were ruling at $61.16, up 0.20 per cent.
