Sensex declines 200 pts, Nifty below 23,400 on losses in banking & IT stocks

After hitting fresh record highs the previous day, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 traded in the red on Friday, dragged down by banking and IT stocks.

The BSE Sensex was trading 198 points, lower at 76,611. The Nifty50 was down 44 points, trading at 23,354 around 9:35 am.

From the Sensex pack, HUL, M&M, Titan, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, and Axis Bank opened with gains, while Tech Mahindra, NTPC, JSW Steel, HCL Tech, and IndusInd Bank opened with losses.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty surged 0.5% and Consumer Durables rose 0.4%, while Nifty Bank, IT, Media, and Metal traded in the red.

Among individual stocks, Ambuja Cements rose 4% after the Adani Group-owned firm announced the signing of a binding agreement for the acquisition of Penna Cement (PCIL) at an enterprise value of Rs 10,422 crore.

Ceramic firm Nitco shares opened with a 5% upper circuit after its board approved a monetisation of immovable property in Mumbai and conveyance deed worth Rs 232 crore with Runwal Construction.