Equity indices erase morning gains, Nifty below 11,000 mark

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains around noon on Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the first fiscal quarter GDP data.

At 12:15 pm, the BSE S & P Sensex was down by 186 points at 36,883 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 57 points to 10,891.

At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were in the red except for Nifty IT and pharma.

Among stocks, power utility major NTPC dropped by over 5 per cent to trade at Rs 116.80 per share. Coal India slipped by 3.4 per cent, Power Grid by 3.2 per cent and Larsen & Toubro by 2.8 per cent.

However, metal stocks were in the green with Hindalco gaining 2.2 per cent, Tata Steel by 1.7 per cent and JSW Steel by 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian shares jumped to a one-week high following strong gains on the Wall Street overnight amid signs that China is open to a resolution of its trade war with the United States.

Investors also hoped that central banks and governments will do more to avert a global growth slowdown.