Opening Bell: Nifty slips below 18,200, Sensex gives up 61k

The domestic equity markets put a break to positive opening as the benchmark indices opned in the negative on Friday after starting positive for 5 consecutive sessions.  The broader Nifty50 slipped below 18,200, whilee the S&P BSE Sensex gave up 61,100.  

Domestic benchmarks Nifty and the Sensex opened at 18,137.90 and 61,040.32 respectively. The sensex dropped nearly 400 points to trade at 60,843.18, minutes into opening. 

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Cipla, IOC and Titan were the only gainers, while others declined. HDFC Ltd, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, UPL, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank were among the op losers. 

At 9.05 am, in the pre-open, the Sensex started 190 points lower to 61,044 as 9 shares advanced and 21 stocks declined on the 30-share index.  

Earlier, the SGX Nifty hinted at a negtaive opening for the domestic equity markets as the Futures Index traded with 71 points or 0.39% loss to 18,229.50 around 9 am on Friday. On the Nifty50, 36 shares were in the green, while 14 sat in the red in the pre-open session.  

On Friday morning, the Asian indices started lower for the second day. Japanese Nikkei 225 was down nearly 600 points, Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange traded 168 points lower and Chinese Shanghai Composite  traded 14 points down from the previous close at around 8 am on Friday.  

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities  on Thursday said Asian markets are giving mixed cues due to the uncertainty regarding the changes in fiscal policies ahead and the rising cases of coronavirus in the US. "On the technical front, the key resistance level for Nifty50 is 18,400 and on the downside 18,000 can act as strong support. Key resistance and support levels for Bank Nifty are 38800 and 38000 respectively," he said. 

The Wall Street indices ended lower for yet another session as all four major indices ended in the red on Thursday. Dow Jones closed 0.49% lower, Nasdaq Composite closed 2.51% down, S&P 500 settled with 1.42% loss and Russell 2000 closed 0.76% lower on Thursday.