Equities turn volatile, metal stocks drag indices lower
Brent was 45 cents or 0.7% higher at 64.45 dollars a barrel while US crude was up by 39 cents at 58.20 dollars a barrel
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Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices reversed morning gains on January 16 and traded lower in the afternoon session as global oil prices rose after the United States and China signed phase one of the trade agreement.
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Brent was 45 cents or 0.7% higher at 64.45 dollars a barrel while US crude was up by 39 cents at 58.20 dollars a barrel.
Under the deal to call a truce in a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, China committed to buying over 50 billion dollars more of US oil, liquefied natural gas and other energy products over two years.
At 12.30 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex down by 29 points to 41,844 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 12 points at 12,331. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty metal slipping by 1.43%.
Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service said the US-China pact could help boost bilateral exports and lead to an improvement in business confidence as well as investment.
"But the details of the agreement suggest that there remains considerable scope for friction between the two sides," said Michael Taylor, managing director of Moody's Investors Service Credit Strategy.
