Sensex, Nifty start on a cautious note

Mumbai: Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a cautious note on Thursday tracking tepid cues from global markets and foreign fund outflow.

After dropping over 100 points in opening session, the 30-share barometer was trading 64.26 points, or 0.16 per cent, lower at 41,258.74.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty was trading down by 8.90 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 12,117.

HDFC, Kotak Bank, HUL, Nestle India, RIL and NTPC were among the top laggards in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 1.05 per cent.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank emerged as the biggest gainer, rising up to 3 per cent, followed ONGC, Sun Pharma, SBI, TCS and Axis Bank.

In the previous session, the Sensex settled at 41,323, clocking a gain of 428.62 points or 1.05 per cent, and Nifty shot up 133.40 points or 1.11 per cent to close at 12,125.90.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign



institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 190.66 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 590.12 crore on Wednesday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

According to traders, besides foreign fund outflow, concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic in China on world economy kept investors on edge.

Coronavirus death toll climbed to 2,118 with the death of 114 more people. However, new confirmed cases declined to 394, registering the biggest drop since December when the first case was reported in Wuhan city.

Bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo were trading on a positive note, while those in Seoul and Hong Kong slipped in the red.

Brent crude oil futures rose 0.07 per cent to USD 59.16 per barrel.

The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 71.74 against the US dollar in morning session.