Domestic stock markets started Friday's session on a lower note, as benchmark indices took a breather following two days of gains, amid weakness in Asian peers. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 584.81 points to 31,278.27 in the first few minutes of trade, having started the session at down 436.46 points at 31,426.62. The broader NSE Nifty 50 started the day at 9,163.90 and dipped to 9,145.00, compared with its previous close of 9,313.90. Losses across sectors barring pharmaceutical shares pulled the markets lower, with banking stocks being the worst hit.
At 9:25 am, the Sensex traded 464.13 points - or 1.46 per cent - lower at 31,398.95 while the Nifty was down 107.70 points (1.16 per cent) at 9,206.20.
In the Nifty basket of 50 components, 36 stocks traded lower at the time. Top percentage losers were Zee Entertainment, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank, down between 3.74 per cent and 6.76 per cent each.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, Cipla, Britannia, Larsen & Toubro and Sun Pharma - trading between 1.56 per cent and 3.35 per cent higher - were the top Nifty gainers.
ICICI Bank (down 5.24 per cent), HDFC Bank (2.69 per cent) and HDFC (2.94 per cent) alone accounted for a loss of more than 300 points in the Sensex.
Analysts say some volatility can prevail in the near term as investors assess the policy measures announced so far to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Bharti Infratel shares fell as much as 2.86 per cent to Rs 161.40 apiece on the BSE, a day after the company reported its earnings for the quarter ended March 31. In the fourth quarter of financial year 2019-20, the telecom infrastructure firm's net profit rose 7 per cent to Rs 650 crore. The company extended the deadline for merger with Indus Towers by two more months to June 24.
Equities in other Asian markets and US stock futures fell on Friday, spurred by doubts about progress in the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and new evidence of US economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were down 0.72 per cent.
Shares in China, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, fell 0.25%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq turned negative at the close on Thursday after a report that Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivier had failed to help severely ill COVID-19 patients in its first clinical trial. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.17 per cent higher, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices lost 0.05 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively.
On Thursday, the Nifty had ended 126.60 points - or 1.38 per cent - higher at 9,313.90.
