Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty Open On A Cautious Note, IT Stocks Fall

Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note on Friday tracking weakness in index-heavyweight IT stocks amid mixed global cues. After opening on a positive note, the 30-share index turned choppy to trade 15.89 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 40,559.28. Similarly, the broader Nifty slipped 20.45 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 11,947.95.

Top losers in the Sensex pack included Infosys which fell up to 3 per cent, HCL Tech 1.67 per cent, Tech Mahindra 1.65 per cent, TCS 1.52 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1 per cent and Bajaj Auto 0.91 per cent.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma rose up to 3.16 per cent, NTPC 2.69 per cent, PowerGrid 2.30 per cent and RIL 1.74 per cent.

According to traders, fall in IT stocks amid reports of changes in US work visa requirements aimed at protecting American workers fuelled the overall weakness in the market.

On Thursday, the Sensex ended 76.47 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 40,575.17. The Nifty closed 30.70 points, or 0.26 per cent, down at 11,968.40.

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 5,023.54 crore in the capital market in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 247.74 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note, while those in Shanghai were in the red.

Stocks on Wall Street ended on a negative note on Thursday.

On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 4 paise (intra-day) against the US dollar to trade at 71.72 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.59 per cent to USD 63.59 per barrel.