Sensex falls nearly 100 points, Maruti top Nifty loser

The BSE Sensex fell over 90 points in early trade, while the broader Nifty dipped below the key 5,900 mark in early trade on Friday. The rupee, however, gained against the dollar in some relief to traders.

Indian stocks tracked weak trade across Asia. Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1.7 per cent and entered bear market territory on Friday, having plunged 20 percent from a 5-1/2 year high hit last month. Investors remained wary ahead of the key U.S. jobs report due later that may clarify whether the Federal Reserve could start tapering its stimulus programme in coming weeks.

The Sensex traded 82 points down at 19,437, while the Nifty declined 31 points to 5,890. The rupee traded at 56.77 against the dollar as of 09.18 a.m.

Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava said current setups indicate negative outlook on markets. 5,880-5,900 are immediate supports for the Nifty, he added.

Barring tech and consumer durables, most other sectoral indices traded lower. On the Nifty, 40 of the 50 shares traded lower.

India's biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki was the top Nifty loser, down 1.8 per cent, after the company said it will shut down its plants on Friday. Maruti is struggling on account of rising inventory because of sluggish sales.

Drug maker Ranbaxy and L&T, India's biggest engineering and construction major, traded with over 1 per cent cut.

Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp, which reported higher than estimated sales in May, was the top Nifty gainer, up 0.7 per cent.

Tech stocks -- TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech -- were among the gainers on the Nifty.

(With inputs from Reuters)