Markets Live: Sensex, Nifty Trade Little Changed As Banking Stocks Recover

• Nifty down 0.3% at 15,074
• Sensex down 0.3% at 51,178
• Nifty Bank down 0.7% at 36,340
• Nifty Midcap index down 0.2%
• Nifty Small cap index up 0.2%
• India Volatility Index up 0.7% to 21.7
• Nifty Auto index is the top sectoral laggard; down 1.1%
• Nifty Metal index down 1% while I.T. index down 0.7%
• Nifty FMCG and PSU Bank index up 0.3% each
• GAIL is the top Nifty gainer; up 3.3%
• Power Grid is the top Nifty laggard; down 2.5%
• 975 stocks on the NSE are trading with gains while 768 are declining

Indian equities opened lower for the fourth straight day, as sentiment across the Asia-Pacific remains muted.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.2% lower at 51,238 while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.3% at the start of trading to 15,074. As of closing on Thursday, both Sensex and Nifty gave up Monday's gains, courtesy the three-day drop.

Among the sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index has opened 0.8% higher while the Nifty Bank index shed another 200 points to open below the 36,500 mark.

Most other sectoral indices have opened flat. The Auto index is down 0.4% while the Media index has gained 0.2%.

Broader markets have opened flat this morning. Both Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices are little changed from Thursday's closing levels.

1,061 stocks on the NSE have opened with gains while 862 are trading lower.

Good Morning!

Indian equities gave up all of Monday's gains after declining for the third straight day amid weekly options expiry. The Sensex and Nifty 50 have turned negative for the week.

Banking and auto stocks were the top laggards on Thursday. Foreign investors remained net buyers but their quantum of buying was less than what domestic counterparts sold.

Futures are again indicating a weak start to the final trading day of the week. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.5% to 15,045 as of 8:00 a.m. on Friday.

Asian equities are declining this morning with benchmark indices in Japan, South Korea and Australia trading lower. Futures on the Dow Jones are trading 100 points lower after the index fell 0.4% overnight.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $59.23 per barrel after some companies resumed production in Texas post the cold snap. Gold fell 0.5% to $1,766/Oz. Bitcoin traded below the $52,000 mark.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.