NSE & BSE fall in early trade

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined by more than one percent in opening trade on Friday due to heavy selling in financials, IT and capital goods stocks amid weak global trends. The 30-share BSE barometer plunged by 730.17 points or 1.22 percent to end at 59,076.11 as 25 of its constituents traded in the red. The index opened lower and fell to a low of 59,062.72 in early trade. The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) tanked by 201.05 points or 1.14 percent to settle at 17,388.55 in opening trade. 

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 541.81 points or 0.90 percent lower at 59,806.28, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 164.80 points or 0.93 percent to 17,589.60. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 561.78 crore, according to exchange data.

Position of stocks listed in BSE

As many as 45 of Nifty shares traded in the red with Adani Enterprises, HDFC twins and IndusInd Bank emerging as the biggest losers. HDFC fell the most by 2.53 percent among Sensex shares. IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS and Ultratech Cement were among major losers.

Tata Motors bucked the trend gaining 0.75 percent. Bharti Airtel and Maruti also advanced.

Performance of markets worldwide

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul declined following losses in US shares. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 2.45 percent, South Korea's Kospi by 1.21 percent, Shanghai by 1.15 percent, Japan's Nikkei by 1.36 percent.

In the US, the S&P 500 tumbled by 1.8 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite fell by 2.1 percent as investors remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

"The sell-off in US markets was triggered by a crash of 60 percent in SVB Financials - a bank that mainly funds start-ups. This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Heavy selling in financials, banking, IT and capital goods shares triggered by weak Asian markets and overnight losses in the US market dragged down the benchmark indices, analysts said.

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