Chinese concerns drag markets

Fears surrounding the Chinese economic story reared their head yet again.

Data showing that Chinese import growth was below expectations not only pulled down the Chinese markets, but had a ripple effect on other bourses.

And the upcoming Fed meet scheduled later in the day only exacerbated the cautious undertone.

The Sensex ended at 18219, lower by 67 points and the Nifty ended at 5460, down 25 points. The midcap index ended at 7584, lower by 35 points and the smallcap index ended at 9686, down 33 points.

The markets had a tentative opening this morning, after rallying nearly a percent on Monday, and an indecisive morning session due to the softness on the Chinese bourses and their Asian peers.

And the selling pressure only intensified later as Europe seemed to have stocks dropped in early trade.

The key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea shed between 0.22% and 1.22% and European shares fell in early trade, led lower by mining stocks, following the Chinese imports data.

And trading in US index futures suggests that the Dow could decline around 75 points on opening bell.