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Sensex Drops Over 100 Points, Nifty Struggles Near 11,550; Yes Bank Falls 3%

Stock Market on Friday: Asian stocks fell on Friday after US-China trade talks ended without progress.
Stock Market on Friday: Asian stocks fell on Friday after US-China trade talks ended without progress.

The domestic stock markets swung between gains and losses after opening lower on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex started the session at 38,284.41 and the Nifty50 opened below the 11,560 level. However, volatility kicked in leading to a deeper fall in the indices. At 1:13 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex traded at 38,217.03, down 119.73 points or 0.31 per cent. The broader Nifty50 was at 11,547.25, with a loss of 35.50 points or 0.31 per cent. According to brokers, besides profit-booking at record levels, a mixed trend at Asian markets following a negative leads from Wall Street dented the trading sentiment.

Asian stocks fell on Friday after US-China trade talks ended without progress, with markets bracing for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for hints on the direction of US monetary policy.

Top laggards on the BSE index in morning trade were ITC (-0.45%), Vedanta (-0.63%), Wipro (-0.67%), Induslnd Bank (-0.71%), Bharti Airtel (-0.73%) and ICICI Bank (-1.31%). ICICI Bank, ITC and Yes Bank were among main contributors to the losses in Sensex. Prominent losers on the NSE index were Cipla (-1.65%), Hindalco (-1.15%), Bharti Airtel (-0.97%), Infratel (-0.97%) and Lupin (-0.96%).

The rupee weakened by 13 paise to 70.24 against the US dollar in opening trade today. Increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks dragged the rupee, according to analysts.

Oil markets were steady on Friday as the unresolved trade dispute between Washington and Beijing muted activity. US and Chinese officials ended two days of talks on Thursday with no major breakthrough as the trade war between the world's two biggest economies escalated with activation of another round of duelling tariffs on $16 billion worth of each country's goods.

Shares of IndiGo were in focus as the budget passenger carrier has grounded some of its A320 Neo aircraft due to non-availability of spare engines from Pratt and Whitney. Larsen and Toubro traded higher, a day after the company approved a share buyback worth Rs 9,000 crore at Rs 1,500 apiece.

On the other hand, major gainers in the 30-share Sensex pack in opening trade were Axis Bank (+1.18%), Power Grid (+1.13%), NTPC (+0.97%), Asian Paints (+0.60%), Larsen & Tourbo (+0.58%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (+0.56%). Power Grid (+1.50), Bajaj Finance (+1.37%), NTPC (+1.31%), Axis Bank (+1.31%) and UltraTech Cement (+1.06%) were leading the pack of Nifty gainers.

Domestic stock markets had closed at record highs on Thursday, led by IT, pharma and energy stocks. S&P BSE Sensex had ended at 38,336.76 and the broader NSE Nifty at 11,582.75. (With inputs from agencies)