Markets open lower amid volatility; Sensex drops 176 points

MUMBAI: The domestic equity markets made losses on Friday morning, tracking mixed cues from Asian stocks.

US markets finished higher in choppy trade Thursday in the aftermath of the December consumer price index (CPI) report. Consumer inflation in the US slipped in December to the lowest level in over a year, rising 6.5 per cent from a year ago.

According to exchanges, BSE Sensex dropped 176 points to 59,781.42 while NSE Nifty 50 dipped 55 points to 17,826.45 points in morning trade on Friday.

It is expected that domestic stocks might strengthen later in the session. Some of the active stocks that went up on BSE were Finolex Industries, CG Power, ITI, Nations Standard India and Apcotex Industries.

Motherson, Marksans, BCG and Apar Industries were some of the laggards. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei went down 300 points, Hong Kong's Hang Seng went up 10 points while China's Shanghai SE surged 17 points on Friday morning.

In European markets, FTSE gained 69 points, CAC 40 and Deutsche Borsewas trading in the green while Refinitiv Europe was trading 2 points up as markets closed.

In the US markets, Dow Jones rose and settled with 216 points higher, Nasdaq surged 69 points while S&P went up 13 points at the close of Thursday trading.

Indian rupee lost 28 paise to 81.390 against the US dollar on Friday morning. The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08 per cent to 102.07 as Asian markets open on Friday morning.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, "There are significant near-term positives for equity markets. Globally, the decline in US inflation to 6.5 per cent and the consequent decline in US 10-year bond yields by 10 per cent to 3.46 per cent are supportive of equity markets.

The dollar index dipping below 103 is positive for emerging market equity. Therefore, the sustained selling by FIIs in India for the 15th trading session is likely to abate, going forward." State Bank of lndia declined 0.26 per cent on Thursday.

The public sector bank said that the Centre extended the term of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the managing director of SBI for a period of two years, effective from January 20, 2023. TVS Motor Company fell 0.95 per cent on Thursday.

The company announced its intention to invest in Madhya Pradesh for its potential future two-wheeler and three-wheeler expansion in electric and internal combustion engine vehicles.