Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty turn choppy on mixed global cues

Domestic equities opened on a choppy note on Monday tracking mixed cues from other Asian markets, ahead of F&O expiry later this week.        

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which had lost 11.71 points in the previous session on Friday, rose 78.11 points, only to turn negative within minutes of session opening.

The 30-share index was trading 15.24 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 34,400.34, with metals and banking stocks leading the losses.

The NSE Nifty opened 28.75 points, or 0.27 per cent, higher at 10,592.80.

Brokers said weakness in rupee and other Asian markets weighed on domestic equities, ahead of April futures and options (F&O) series this week.

ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India and Tata Steel were among the top losers, falling up to 2 per cent.

While, gainers included IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, TCS, Bharti Airtel, L&T, M&M, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC, RIL, ONGC, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki, rising up to 2 per cent.

HDFC shares climbed 1.17 per cent, to Rs 1,984, in early trade after it posted 20.3 per cent growth in its standalone net profit at Rs 4,799.3 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2018, compared to a year ago period.

Standalone total income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was Rs 25,549.7 crore, up from Rs 21,560.7 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2017, HDFC said in a statement Saturday.

On a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 111.01 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 21.02 crore on Friday, per provisional data showed.

Globally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.23 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.34 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.14 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.82 per cent lower in Friday’s trade.