Weak global trends drag Sensex lower

Indian stock markets edged lower today amid weak global cues and profit-taking after the recent rally.

The Sensex was down 54 points at 20,767 in early trade while the Nifty was off 18 points at 6,168.

Among stocks, Tech Mahindra shares rose more than 5 percent on Friday to its highest since May 2007 after the company's July-September earnings beat some analysts' estimates.

Tech Mahindra on Thursday posted July-September consolidated net profit of Rs 718 crore,   slightly higher than consensus forecasts of Rs 710 crore.

Shares in SpiceJet slumped as much as 6 per cent on Friday after the company posted a record loss of Rs 559 crore in the September quarter. SpiceJet had reported a net loss of Rs 164 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations rose 6 per cent, while passenger numbers were up 9 per cent.

Asian shares slumped to a three-week low on Friday after Wall Street suffered its biggest fall in more than two months, while a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank underscored the fragility of the global economy.

Markets in Asia took their cues from a rough night on Wall Street as weak earnings saw the Dow Jones industrial average slide 0.97 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index tumble 1.32 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent to a three-week low. (With Reuters Inputs)