After opening the day in green, share markets in India witnessed volatile trading activity throughout the day and ended the day flat. Sectoral indices ended the day mixed, with stocks in the pharma sector and stocks in the IT sector leading the gains, while stocks in the metal sector lost the most.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 45 points (down 0.1%) and the NSE Nifty closed up by 4 points (up 0.1%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day up 0.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day up by 0.5%.

Asian stock markets finished in red. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 1% and the Shanghai Composite was up by 0.5%. The Nikkei 225 was down by 0.1%. Meanwhile, European markets too were trading on a negative note. The FTSE 100 was down by 0.4%, The DAX, was down by 0.8% while the CAC 40 was down by 1.2%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 70.91 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 77.5 at the time of writing.

In news from the global economy. According to a leading financial daily, US President Donald Trump could impose US$ 200 billion worth of tariffs on China as early as next week. Notably, the public comment period ends next week, wherein companies and members of the public have until 6 September to submit comments on the proposed duties, which cover everything from selfie sticks to semiconductors.

If he goes ahead with the proposed tariffs, it would mean thousands of products from fish to chemicals, metals and tires would face new taxes. The president plans to impose the tariffs once that deadline passes. Broadening the tariff battle would mark the most significant move yet in a months-long trade standoff, and could add to the trade war tensions.

Note that in March 2018, Trump said, ‘Last year we lost US$ 500 billion on trade with China.’

But this isn’t true.