Sensex, Nifty open lower as financial stocks, crude oil prices weigh

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Friday as weakness in financial stocks and a fresh rise in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment amid continued uncertainty in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 235.36 points in early trade to 78,699.80, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 24.30 points to 24,608.25.

Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Eternal were among the prominent laggards.

Information technology stocks provided some support to the market, with Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Infosys trading higher.

Crude oil prices remained a key concern for investors. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.16 per cent to $83.45 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 17.86 crore, according to exchange data.

Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder and CEO of research analyst firm HST Wealth, said Wall Street had retreated from recent record highs as investors reduced their exposure to riskier assets amid renewed concerns over energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty.

He said crude prices had risen as doubts resurfaced over the progress and possible outcome of diplomatic negotiations involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

The uncertainty has revived concerns that disruptions affecting one of the world's most important energy corridors could continue for longer than markets had previously anticipated.

Indian benchmark indices have also witnessed divergence since the beginning of the week following the introduction of a new auction mechanism by stock exchanges for shares with futures and options contracts.

The Closing Auction Session (CAS), introduced in the equity cash segment on Monday, uses an auction-based process to determine the closing prices of eligible stocks. The mechanism is aimed at strengthening transparency and improving price discovery at the end of the trading session.

Asian markets presented a mixed picture on Friday. South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded lower, while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were in positive territory.

US equities also closed lower on Thursday.

The weak opening in India followed gains in the previous session. On Thursday, the Sensex advanced 373.76 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 78,954.76.

The Nifty, however, remained largely range-bound and ended only marginally higher, gaining 11.35 points, or 0.05 per cent, to settle at 24,636.

With PTI inputs