NEW DELHI: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty registered muted opening on Friday, in continuation of Thursday's trend, amid elevated crude oil prices and weak rupee.Subdued Asian peers offered no relief.
Asian stocks were down as investors awaited key Chinese data to get more clarity on how the US-Sino trade war is weighing on the economy.
Oil prices retreated slightly but still were in the green, supported by supply concerns after attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.Brent crude was trading 0.73 per cent up at $61.76 per barrel at around 9.05 am (IST).The rupee on Friday opened 6 paise down at 69.57 against the US dollar following a rise in crude oil prices in the international markets.Around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex was 0.19 per cent down at 39,668 while the NSE Nifty was 0.24 per cent down at 11,886.BSE Midcap index was 0.49 per cent down while the smallcap index was 0.22 per cent down around that time.
In the 30-share Sensex kitty, 21 stocks were in the red.
Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 30 stocks were declining.IndusInd Bank, YES Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra - Mahindra and Tata Motors were among the top losers in the Sensex index.On the other hand, Power Grid Corporation, Vedanta, ONGC, NTPC, Coal India and Hindustan Unilever were trading with gains in the index.
Most sectoral indices on BSE were in the red; energy, realty and telecom were among the top loser, falling up to half-a-percent.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Rs 172.35 crore worth of domestic stocks on Thursday, data available with NSE suggested.
DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 445 crore, data suggests.