Markets open flat on muted global cues

New Delhi: After four straight session of rally, stock markets opened flat on Friday amidst muted global demands and weakness in the Indian rupee.

The benchmark BSE Sensex retreated from record high by falling 48.88 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 38,287.78 in early trade today.  The NSE Nifty was trading flat at 11,592.60, up 9.85 points.

The rupee weakened by 13 paise to 70.24 against the US dollar in opening trade today on increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

Asian stocks fell on Friday after US-China trade talks ended without progress, with the markets braced for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for hints on the direction of US monetary policy, a Reuters report said.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.6 percent. It was still up about 0.85 percent on the week. Hong Kong`s Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.65 percent. Australian stocks rose 0.2 percent, South Korea`s KOSPI fell 0.35 percent and Japan`s Nikkei climbed 0.3 percent.

With Agency Inputs