Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) The Indian benchmark indices slipped marginally in the Wednesday morning session, amid mixed global cues.

The BSE Sensex fell by 112 points or 0.14 per cent to 81,531. Nifty 50 slipped by 41 points or 0.16 per cent to 24,939 points.

Broader markets underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap indices 100 ending in the red down 0.17 per cent and 0.19 per cent respectively.

Nifty Bank was down by 0.42 per cent. Most of the other indices showed moderate losses up to 0.50 per cent.

The NSE’s benchmark index Nifty had rallied 364 points in the last three days on the back of positive announcements relating to GST reforms, likely to be implemented before Diwali.

“There is no scope for a sustained rally since the news coming from the US administration is not positive on the August 27 deadline for the 25 per cent secondary tariff on India. US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, totally devoid of logic and fairness, driven solely by personal whims, may continue,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

In the short term, investors may focus on domestic consumption themes like banking and financials, telecom, hotels, healthcare, automobiles and cement, particularly the fairly valued segments, he added.

On the technical front, the Nifty has been consolidating in a sideways-to-bullish trend after a gap-up opening.

“The index continues to find support at almost every major EMA level, indicating strong underlying strength,” added Mandar Bhojane from Choice Equity Broking.

If Nifty sustains above 25,050, it could head towards 25,250 and 25,500 levels in the coming sessions. The market is still in a bullish mood, and dips are likely to present buying opportunities, said analysts.

Asia-Pacific markets fell in the early trading session, tracking Wall Street declines overnight, as investors reviewed Japan’s trade data. Exceeding analysts’ forecast of a 2.1 per cent YoY drop, Japan’s exports fell 2.6 per cent YoY in July, their steepest drop in four years.

In the US markets, the Dow Jones was up by 0.02 per cent, while the NASDAQ declined by 1.46 per cent and the S&P 500 fell by 0.59 per cent.

In Asia, China’s Shanghai index and Shenzen index was down by 0.04 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively. Japan’s Nikkei dropped by 1.52 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped by 0.41 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI was down by 1.86 per cent.

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers again after a day of buying, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 634 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), meanwhile, sustained their support with net purchases of Rs 2,261 crore.

–IANS

aar/na