Sensex ends lower as China reports weak trade data

Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) Indian markets closed lower on Friday following Asian markets which slid as the second largest economy China reported trade data.

Markets were choppy throughout the day ahead of India's key macro-data release.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 86.88 points lower at 38,736.23 while the Nifty declined by 30.40 points or 0.26 per cent to 11,552.50.

"Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended lower on Friday after weak trade data from China, the region's biggest trading partner, spelt further weakness for the broader Asian economy," Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities said.

"China's June exports fell and imports shrank more than expected as a trade tiff with the United States continued to erode demand in the country," Jasani added.

Garment exporter KPR Mills on Friday became the first company to have withdrawn its buyback proposal due to the 20 per cent tax proposed on buyback obligations in the Finance Bill, 2019.

As a result its scrips fell as much as 6.24 per cent before closing 2.29 per cent lower at Rs 594.05 apiece. The company had proposed a buyback offer of up to 37,50,784 equity shares.

That apart, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to be in sell mode as they off-loaded shares worth Rs 850.11 crore on Friday.

FIIs have been in sell mode ever since the Union Budget proposed higher surcharge on the super-rich, affecting majority of the portfolio investors.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released during the after market hours on Friday, stood at 3.18 per cent, the highest rate in the last eight months while the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) softened to 3.1 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in May from 3.4 per cent in April.