New Delhi, August 22 (HS): Indian equity markets opened on a weak note Friday, with both the Sensex and Nifty slipping sharply in early trade amid heavy selling pressure. After a subdued opening, intensified profit-booking dragged indices further down despite intermittent attempts by buyers to provide support.
By 10 a.m., the BSE Sensex had fallen 396 points (0.48%) to 81,604.47, while the NSE Nifty slipped 122.60 points (0.49%) to 24,961.15, dipping below the key 25,000-mark.
In the Sensex basket, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance, Jio Financial, Nestlé India, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top gainers, advancing between 0.71% and 1.43%. On the downside, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, SBI Life Insurance, Hero MotoCorp, and Grasim Industries fell between 1.17% and 1.49%.
Overall market breadth was negative. Out of 2,421 actively traded stocks, 953 were in the green while 1,468 slipped into the red. On the Sensex, only 6 out of 30 constituents traded with gains, while the remaining 24 were under pressure. Similarly, in the Nifty pack of 50 stocks, only 7 advanced and 43 declined.
At the opening bell, the Sensex had started 49 points lower at 81,951.48 before dropping to 81,578 in the first 15 minutes of trade. The Nifty, which began 19.60 points lower at 25,064.15, briefly hit 24,950 before recovering slightly.
On Thursday, markets had closed in positive territory, with the Sensex adding 142 points to end at 82,000.71 and the Nifty 33 points higher at 25,083.75.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
