Sensex drops over 150 points in early trade, Nifty below 11,800

Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 150 points Friday dragged by losses in index heavyweights HDFC, RIL, ITC and Maruti, amid weak cues from other Asian markets. The 30-share index was trading 136.59 points, or 0.34 per cent, lower at 39,465.04 at 0930 hours. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was quoting 32.25 points, or 0.27 per cent, down at 11,799.50.

In the previous session Thursday, the BSE gauge settled 488.89 points, or 1.25 per cent, higher at 39,601.63; and the Nifty closed 140.30 points, or 1.20 per cent, up at 11,831.75. Top losers in the Sensex pack included Maruti, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, ITC, HDFC, Axis Bank and Bajaj Auto shedding up to 2 per cent.

While, Vedanta, SBI, Coal India, L&T, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and HCL Tech were among the gainers, rising up to 1 per cent. According to experts, investors took weak cues from other Asian markets amid continued foreign fund outflow and a depreciating rupee.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi were trading on a choppy note in their respective early sessions. On Wall Street, S&P500 ended at its record peak on Thursday, and Nasdaq rallied 0.80 per cent.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equity worth Rs 438.41 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares to the tune of Rs 1,241.23 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed on Thursday.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated 30 paise to 69.74 against the US dollar. The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading flat at 64.47 per barrel. Domestic market was also cautious ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first meeting of the GST Council on Friday, traders said.

The council will consider slashing GST rate on electric vehicles to 5 per cent, from 12 per cent currently, along with extension of the tenure of the anti-profiteering authority by a year till November 2020, an official said.