New Delhi: Stock markets opened in the red with the BSE Sensex falling close to 250 points and the NSE Nifty coming below 10,400 level amidst heightened geo-political tensions in the Middle East, along with broadly negative Asian markets.
Minutes into the trading, however, the market pared some initial losses. Analysts said that caution ahead of the release of a key macro-economic inflation data point eroded investors` risk-taking appetite. Sector-wise, heavy selling pressure was witnessed in IT, oil and gas and banking stocks.
The 30-share index fell by 293.31 points, or 0.85 percent, to 33,899.34 in opening trade. The gauge had gained 1,173.88 points in the previous seven sessions. The Sensex touched a high of 34,124.25 points and a low of 33,899.34 points during the intra-day trade so far.
Shares of Infosys fell 3.86 percent to Rs 1,123.90 less-than-expected FY19 revenue guidance. The stock was the biggest contributor to the losses on Sensex.
Other major losers were Tata Motors, Wipro, Axis Bank, ONGC, NTPC, RIL, Dr Reddy's SBI, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paint and Tata Steel, falling by up to 1.54 percent.
MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.4 percent as Chinese blue chips took an early 0.7 percent dip. The Hang Seng Index shed 1.47 percent, or 452.45 points, to sit at 30,355.93 by the break.
With Agency Inputs
