The BSE Sensex fell 162 points, or 0.2%, to 82,165 in morning trade on Tuesday, marking its second consecutive session of losses and hitting a two-week low. The decline was driven by weakness in the auto, banking, and financial services sectors. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid renewed US-China trade tensions, despite plans for a meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October, which remains on schedule as part of efforts to de-escalate the situation. Additional pressure came from concerns over the ongoing US government shutdown and anticipation of wholesale price data for September, due later today. On the positive side, September’s inflation data raised hopes for an interest rate cut at the RBI’s December policy meeting, after inflation fell below the RBI’s lower tolerance limit of 2%. Among the biggest laggards were Axis Bank (-1.1%), Bajaj Finance (-1.0%), IndusInd Bank (-0.8%), and Maruti Suzuki (-0.8%).
