Sensex opens with losses, tracking weak global cues

MUMBAI: The key benchmark indices of the equity domestic markets opened with losses on Friday, tracking weak global cues. Soft economic data from the US and China magnified concerns of a global slowdown, although Japanese stocks outperformed.

BSE Sensex went down 178 points to 61,726.60 while NSE Nifty lost 52.70 points to 18,244.30 in the early trade on Friday.

Eicher Motors went up 6.24 per cent on Friday in the morning opening session after the firm's net profit jumped 48 per cent to Rs 906 crore during the March quarter.

Tata Motors gained 0.83 per cent ahead of its earnings' announcement today and was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack.

The Nifty Auto index went up 1.11 per cent, according to NSE. In the US markets, Dow Jones went down 221 points, Nasdaq gained 22 points, S&P 500 lost 7 points and NYSE dropped 86 points.

In the Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 20 points, Japan's Nikkei gained 243 points, Thailand Set lost 8 points, China's Shanghai lost 13 points as domestic stocks opened on Friday.

In European markets, Amsterdam Exchange, BEL, CAC and Deutsche Borse were trading in the positive territory, FTSE 100 lost 10 points, Madrid and IBEX 35 were trading in the green when Asian markets opened on Friday.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: "Even though the momentum is with the bulls the market is likely to remain subdued till there is clarity on two important issues. The US debt ceiling impasse is a short-term threat to the market even though the market believes that the issue will be sorted out just before the deadline."

According to data, with new bank loans in China tumbling sharply in April and consumer prices rising at the slowest pace in two years, imports unexpectedly contracting.

This is triggering a slump in the prices from copper, iron ore to oil.

China's economic recovery seems to be losing steam, with new bank loans tumbling sharply in April, consumer prices rising at the slowest pace in more than two years and imports unexpectedly contracting, driving in a plunge in commodity prices from copper, iron ore to oil.