Sensex, Nifty End Lackluster Session Marginally Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended little changed with a negative bias on Monday as investors grappled with signs of a weakening U.S. economy and increasingly unclear prospects for peace in Ukraine.

A cautious undertone prevailed in the lead up to Tuesday — which could see the United States slap Canada, Mexico and China with new tariffs on most imports.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada will go into effect as scheduled on Tuesday, but Trump will determine their exact levels before implementation.

Lutnick also indicated that an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports remains on the table for Tuesday. China has already vowed to counter with all necessary measures.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex moved in a lackluster manner before ending the session down 112.16 points, or 0.15 percent, at 73,085.94.

The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 22,119.30, down 5.40 points, or 0.02 percent, from its previous close despite positive signals from global markets and data showing an uptick in India's GDP growth during the October-December quarter, fueled by higher government and consumer spending.

The BSE mid-cap index edged up by 0.25 percent while the small-cap index dipped 0.70 percent.

The market breadth was negative, with 2,844 shares declining while 1,237 shares advanced and 153 shares closed unchanged.

HDFC Bank, Bajaj FinServ, Reliance Industries, Coal India and Bajaj Auto all fell around 2 percent in the Nifty pack while defense major BEL surged 4.6 percent to lead gainers.

BPCL, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors and Grasim all rose around 2 percent.