Sensex falls over 250 points in opening session

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 250 points in early trade on Friday, tracking losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank amid weak cues from global markets.

The market is taking a pause at these levels with higher possibility of profit-booking, experts said.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 251.44 points or 0.58 per cent lower at 43,105.75.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 68.95 points or 0.54 per cent to 12,621.85.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by SBI, L&T, Axis Bank, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Titan, Bajaj Finance and Sun Pharma were trading with gains.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 236.48 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 43,357.19, while Nifty slipped 58.35 points or 0.46 per cent to 12,690.80.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,514.12 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Trade set up in India does not look to be inspiring as global markets are trading lower now taking cues from US equities, said



Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.

Amid profit-booking, the market did not react much yesterday after the announcement of fiscal stimulus under Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 by the Finance Ministry, he said.

Meanwhile, industrial production entered positive territory after a gap of six months, mainly due to higher output in mining and power sectors, official data showed on Thursday.

The industrial output grew by 0.2 per cent in September, according to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data.

On the global front, US equities ended lower as investors turned cautious due to continued rise in COVID-19 cases and possibilities of further restriction on businesses in a large way.

Additionally, dimming prospects of early fiscal stimulus due to Donald Trump's hard stance on US election result outcome may not result in smooth transition for the new government, also weighed on investors' sentiments, Mahajan added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Seoul was positive.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.59 per cent lower at USD 42.84 per barrel.