By The benchmark indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) kicked off on a volatile note on Friday amid mild weakness in global markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex opened at a fresh record high, rising above the 47,000-mark for the first time to touch 47,026.02, up 135.68 points (0.29 per cent), however, minutes later it gave up all its gains and turned negative. The Nifty too climbed to 13,771.45, up 30.75 points (0.22 per cent), but turned negative after a few minutes.
At 9:46 am, the Sensex was at 46,787.04, down 103.30 points (0.22 per cent), while the broader Nifty was at 13,704.10, down 36.60 points (0.27 per cent).
In the previous session, Sensex had settled 223.88 points (0.48 per cent) higher at 46,890.34 – its fresh closing high. The Nifty too had risen 58 points (0.42 per cent) to a new closing high of 13,740.70.
HDFC twins comprising of HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) along with Reliance Industries (RIL) were the top contributors to the fall in the BSE benchmark during the early trade. On the other hand information technology (IT) majors Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies were the trading higher.
Among sectoral indices, the key Bank Nifty was down over 1 per cent weighed by IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank and Punjab National Bank. The Nifty Financial Services index too slipped over 1 per cent dragged by Shriram Transport Finance Company, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and Bajaj Finance.
Global markets
Asian shares on Friday slipped from the record they hit a day earlier, but the prospect of a major US coronavirus relief package left some investors still in the mood to pick up stocks and other risk-exposed assets.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.3 per cent from Thursday’s record. Still, it’s on track for a seventh consecutive week of gains – the longest such streak in about a year.
Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.2 per cent, facing strong resistance around 27,000.
US S&P 500 futures eased 0.15 per cent, a day after their underlying index gained 0.58% to close at an all-time high of 3,722.48.
Global equities remained swathed in optimism that a deal will be reached over a fresh U.S. economic stimulus package.
