Sensex, Nifty retract in early trade in line with Asian markets

The BSE benchmark Sensex drifted lower by nearly 166 points and the NSE Nifty slipped below the 11,500-level in the opening session Friday due to intense selling mainly in banking, power and healthcare shares amid weak Asian cues.

The BSE 30-share barometer dropped by 165.72 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 38,077.09 in opening trade as index major Sun Pharma, Yes Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, NTPC, ONGC and Maruti Suzuki declined.

The gauge had gained 224.50 points in the previous session on value-buying in recently battered stocks.

The NSE Nifty index too fell by 43.40 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 11,493.50.

Brokers said weakness was seen in most Asian markets as investors were cautious in view of ongoing trade war between the US and China and preferred to log gains after yesterday's strong comeback.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued selling on the domestic bourses here. They sold shares worth a net Rs 455 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 611.98 crore on Thursday, provisional data showed.

Globally, in the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.05 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.51 per cent in their early deals. Shanghai Composite Index too down by 0.13 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended a shade higher yesterday's trade.