Nifty, Sensex fall on global trade worries; metals top drag

Indian shares tracked Asian markets lower on Tuesday, amid weakness in metal stocks, after US President Donald Trump's move to impose tariffs on Brazil and Argentina stoked fresh concerns about global trade.

The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.2 per cnet to 12,021.50 and the S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.18 per cent to 40,720.73 by 0354 GMT.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.45 per cent.

Trump on Monday said he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, attacking what he saw as both countries' "massive devaluation of their currencies."

Meanwhile, investors back home were hopeful of a sixth rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this year, after a Reuters poll last week said the bank may cut rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting later this week.

The expectations for a rate-cut comes as India's economic growth slowed to a six-year low at 4.5 per cent for the July-September period.

Metal stocks were lower as most industrial metal prices came under pressure due to Trump's tariffs move. The Nifty metals index fell 2.04 per cent.

Steelmakers Tata Steel and JSW Steel were among the top losers on the Nifty, dropping about 1.45 per cent each, while Britannia Industries gained about 1.42 per cent.