The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex on Friday plunged 267 points to 29,858.80, while the National Stock Exchange fell below the 9,300 mark to 9,285.30, down 74.60 points, after hitting a record high in morning trade. The fall was attributed to weak Asian markets that were hit by a drop in oil prices.
Banking stocks traded higher after President Pranab Mukherjee approved an Ordinance to empower the Reserve Bank of India with the authority to tackle the mounting bad loans in the sector, reported Reuters. The State Bank of India traded more than 1% higher, while Canara Bank gained around 7%. However, stocks of HDFC Bank fell by over 1% after the company reported a 22% drop in earning in the March quarter.
Oil companies traded low on Friday, with ONGC and Oil India slipping below 2% each, but the stocks of oil refiners and airlines was up 2.1%. Around 1 pm, Tata Communications was below 9% at Rs 640, while Jindal Steel, Indian Bank, Sun TV and Wockhardt were below 4% to 5% each.
Meanwhile, the rupee opened 6 paise weaker on Friday against the United States dollar at 64.22. “The USD seems to have taken a breather ahead of US jobs data later today and the second round of French presidential elections scheduled for later this week,” Ashutosh Raina, head of forex dealing at HDFC Bank, told Moneycontrol.
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