Mumbai, Aug 12 (IANS) The Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Tuesday amid mixed global cues after the US and China extended their trade truce overnight for another 90 days.

The BSE Sensex advanced 0.10 per cent or 80 points to 80,684 points. The Nifty 50 inched up to 24,612 advancing 0.11 per cent.

Broader market indices also saw buying activity, with the BSE SmallCap adding 0.39 per cent and the BSE MidCap climbing 0.06 per cent.

On the sectoral front, Nifty IT gained 0.79 per cent and Nifty Metal adavanced 0.60 per cent. The majority of other indices were mixed, showing modest gains and losses in the range of 0.10 to 0.40 per cent.

In the Nifty pack, Hero MotoCorp led the gainers, followed by Tata Steel and TCS. Among laggards, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories topped the list with a 0.91 per cent decline, followed by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Grasim and Bajaj Finance.

“Technically, a decisive move above 24,650 could pave the way for an upside move towards 24,850, with immediate support located at 24,500 and 24,330, both of which are considered attractive zones for new long positions,” said Amruta Shinde from Choice Broking.

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly in the green, as the overnight extension of the US-China trade truce boosted investor sentiments. The US and China on Monday extended their trade truce until November 10. US had earlier threatened imposing 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing retaliated with 125 per cent duties on US shipments, both of which have been paused till November 10.

Investors are closely monitoring developments in the US-India trade deal, quarterly earnings results, tariff rhetoric, and upcoming inflation data for cues.

In the US markets, the Dow Jones slipped 0.45 per cent, S&P 500 0.25 per cent, and Nasdaq Composite declined 0.30 per cent.

Asian markets were mostly higher in the green. Japan’s Nikkei reached record level, surging 2.46 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.41 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite added 0.19 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.40 per cent.

On Monday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth around Rs 1,200 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 5,972 crore worth of equities.

–IANS

aar/na