(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks opened lower on Friday, as investors booked profits after a recent rally, while information technology stocks declined on fading hopes of a near-term U.S. rate cut.
Markets may see heightened volatility this session as the Bihar state election results trickle in. Early trends show the ruling National Democratic Alliance, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, in the lead.
The Nifty 50 slipped 0.34% to 25,790.55, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.30% to 84,211.55, as of 9:20 a.m. IST.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors logged losses. IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., fell 0.8% as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials doused hopes for a rate cut in December. [MKTS/GLOB]
The broader small-caps and mid-caps traded flat.
Both the benchmarks gained about 1.5% each in the last four sessions.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Harikrishnan Nair)
