BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian stocks opened slightly lower on Friday after benchmarks closed at record highs in the previous session as investors digested mixed signals from global central banks about the interest rate environment.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.18% lower at 62,164.65, while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.14% at 18,459.00.
The minutes of the European Central Bank’s rate-setting committee, the Fed’s equivalent, released on Thursday showed that room for maneuver to slow the pace of interest rate adjustments remains limited, in contrast to the US central bank’s assessment.
The Nifty IT Index declined by 0.4% as seven of its ten components declined during today’s session. The index had risen more than 2.6% and was the main sector gainer on Thursday.
The Nifty Bank Index hit a new record at 43,192.90 in early trading, while the Public Sector Banking Index rose 0.85%, extending its rise for the ninth consecutive day.
The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indexes outperformed their larger peers, rising by 0.33% and 0.47%, respectively.
Asian markets were mixed, with the MSCI Asia index excluding Japan losing 0.30% as rising COVID-19 infections in China dampened hopes of reopening the world’s second-largest economy. [MKTS/GLOB]
US markets were closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday as the dollar fell to a three-month low.