The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday started lower amid volatility following a hawkish statement by the US Fed chair, Jerome Powell, which hit market sentiment. At 10 am, the S&P BSE Sense declined 213 points to 64,619. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,340, down 55 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Asian Paints, Titan, Maruti, Tata Steel, Tata Motors emerged losers. On the flip side, PowerGrid, NTPC, TechM, UltraCemco, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech were among the gainers. Among specific stocks, Tata Motors shares gained 0.3 per cent after Moody's upgraded Tata Motors corporate family rating (CFR) from 'B1' to 'Ba3', reflecting continued improvement in the company's credit profile. Muthoot Finance stock crashed 7 per cent after the lender's net non-performing assets increased in Q2FY24.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index shed 0.2 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap added 0.02 per cent.
Sectorwise, Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG, Media, Pharma, and PSU bank indices dropped between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent. Nifty Metal index was the only gainer, gained 0.02 per cent.
In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 64,832, down 143 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,395, down 48 points.
"Concerns are mounting as FIIs continue their persistent selling, potentially jeopardizing Nifty's positive outlook. Additionally, Jerome Powell's (Federal Reserve Chair) hawkish comments, signalling the possibility of further interest rate hikes in response to persistent inflation and robust economic growth, could lead to instability in today's trading," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.
Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading in the negative zone in Asia, while the US markets ended lower on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,712.33 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.34 per cent to $80.28 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Indian rupee appreciated by 1 paisa to 83.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid a weak American currency and softening crude oil prices. Forex traders said negative equity market sentiment and selling pressure from foreign investors kept the Indian currency range-bound. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.28, higher by 1 paisa from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee closed at 83.29 against US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.04 per cent at 105.86.