Markets Weaken On Opening Session As Sensex Slips 247.86 Points, Nifty At 9,438 Level

The stock market was pulled down as Infosys and Axis Bank slipped 2 per cent each respectively, while Vodafone Idea soared 10 per cent on news that Google is interested in buying a 5 per cent stake in the company.

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Mumbai: Indian equity market slipped in the opening session as the 30-stock benchmark fell 247.86 points or 0.77 per cent to touch 31,952.73 while Nifty was down 51.35 points or 0.54 per cent at 9,438.75 level. The stock market was pulled down as Infosys and Axis Bank slipped 2 per cent each respectively, while Vodafone Idea soared 10 per cent on news that Google is interested in buying a 5 per cent stake in the company, according to Business Standard report.

Around 31 companies including Voltas, Jubilant Life Sciences, and Metropolis Healthcare,  will announce their results on Friday.

The banking stocks also remained under pressure as S&P BSE BANKEX falling -2.0% per cent.

Asian stocks on Friday had a modest opening after the US stocks dragged on escalation of US-China standoff. S&P 500 futures had slipped 0.4 per cent as of 9:05 am in Tokyo, Japan’s Topix index fell 0.6 per cent while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, US stocks also closed lower on Thursday as investors are trying to understand the impact of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 147.63 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 25,400.64. The S&P 500 was down 6.4 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 3,029.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 43.37 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 9,368.99, Xinhua reported. Almost six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors were down, with energy slipping 2.91 per cent and remained the worst-performing group. Utilities rallied 3.04 per cent, outperforming the rest. The markets tanked as the US Labor Department data revealed 2.123 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the Covid-19 outbreak hampers the economic prospect. The previous week's level was revised higher to 2.446 million. Over the past 10 weeks, more than 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. US economic activity in the first quarter contracted at an annual rate of 5 per cent in the second estimate, 0.2 percentage point lower than the advance estimate, the US Commerce Department reported on Thursday. (With inputs from IANS)