Sensex falls 296 points, Nifty slips below 9,400

New Delhi: Markets opened in red on Friday led by decline in banking stocks amidst negative Asian cues.

The BSE Sensex dropped 295.72 points or 0.92 percent to 31,904.87. On the other hand the NSE Nifty fell 95.75 points or 1.01 percent to 9,394.35.

Major losers were Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, SBI, NTPC, TCS, Maruti, Heromotocorp, ONGC and HDFC Bank, falling by upto 2.59 percent. On the other hand, major gainers were Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Ultrachem, Nestle, HUL, Tech Mahindra, rising upto 1.30 percent.

Among Asian peers, MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%. The Nikkei retreated from a three-month high and, though moves were slight, riskier currencies were under pressure against the U.S. dollar. Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.7%. Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index was 0.4% lower in early trade and has lost 3% in the two weeks, a Reuters report said.

In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE Sensex soared 595.37 points or 1.88 percent to 32,200.59 while the NSE Nifty jumped 175.15 points or 1.88 percent to 9,490.10.