Markets open lower, Sensex down over 250 points; Nifty below 10,100

NEW DELHI: Markets on Friday opened lower on weak global cues amid concerns over the outlook for global trade and falling rupee. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 252 points to 33,438 in early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty was down 83 points to 10,042.

Yes Bank, NTPC, Infosys, Asian Paints, Coal India and Vedanta were among the top losers on the BSE platform, falling as much as 6.68 per cent. On the NSE index, all the sub-indices were trading in red with Nifty Metal losing the most by sliding 1.42 per cent.

"Markets have been on a downtrend for the entire month with Nifty correcting 7 per cent from 11,000 levels. Macro issues like liquidity crunch created post IL&FS default, rupee move and volatility in crude oil price have kept the investors at bay," said Rahul Mishra, AVP (Derivatives), Emkay Global Financial Services.

"NBFC was the worst performing sector for the month. Quarterly earnings have been mixed so far. Investors are advised to focus on specific stocks," he added.

Asian shares slipped again, deepening this week’s markets rout, after disappointing results from Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com heightened concerns over US corporate earnings and economic growth.

The rupee falling by 17 paise to 73.44 against the US dollar in early trade also dampened the sentiments.

Sensex had nosedived about 344 points on Thursday in lock-step with a sharp global market meltdown amid fresh weakness in the rupee. The BSE index closed at 344 points, or 1.01 per cent lower at 33,690. Nifty closed below the 10,200-mark by slumping 100 points, or 0.98 per cent at 10,125.

(With inputs from agencies)