Stock Market: Sensex Down 228 Points, Nifty Trades Below 15,300; IT, Pharma Stocks Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share BSE platform, Dr Reddy’s was the top loser, down 5.10 per cent. The other notable losers were Titan, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Asian Paint, TCS, TechM, and others

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday opened in the red amid high volatility. The two indices extended their losses for the sixth straight session tracking global weakness and were set for their worst week in two years.

At 10 am, the BSE Sensex dipped 228 points to 51,267, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 15,275, down 85 points.

On the 30-share BSE platform, Dr Reddy’s was the top loser, down 5.10 per cent. The other notable losers were Titan, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Asian Paint, TCS, TechM, and others.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv was the highest gainer, up 1.46 per cent. RIL, Tata Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance were the other gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices shed up to 1.3 per cent. 

Sectorwise, realty, IT, pharma, consumer durables were the top laggards on the Nifty. Auto and banks were trading in the negative zone. Nifty metals was the sole gainer.

In the previous trading on Thursday, the BSE Sensex sank 1,045 points to 51,495, while the broader NSE Nifty closed at 15,360, down 331 points. The S&P BSE Sensex plunged 1,646 points from the day’s high to end at 51,495. It hit a low of 51,434 during the day.

The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to 78.04 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as easing crude oil prices supported the local unit.

However, unabated foreign fund outflows, a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and strong American dollar overseas restricted the gain, forex dealers said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.60 per cent to 104.25.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.78 per cent to $118.88 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,257.65 crore, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, an RBI article has said India is better placed than many other countries to avoid the risks of potential stagflation with recovery broadly on track, notwithstanding an increasingly hostile external environment.

The government does not see any adverse impact on the Indian economy post the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said on Thursday.