Sensex dips 200 pts, Nifty nears 18250; Eicher Motors soars 6%

Equity benchmark indices opened with cuts on Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the April consumer inflation and March IIP data that will be released after market hours. The BSE Sensex fell 190 points to 61,717, and the NSE Nifty50 slipped 55 points to 18,242.

Asian Paints, Tata Steel, L&T, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, HDFC led losses on the Sensex, while Divi’s Lab, Hindalco and JSW Steel were the top Nifty losers.

On the flip side, Tata Motors, Titan, M&M, Maruti, Eicher Motors, Hero Moto were the among the few frontline gainers.

The broader markets were mixed. The BSE MidCap index was flat but the SmallCap pocket outperformed the benchmarks and rose 0.25 per cent.