Stock markets open flat; banking, auto stocks drag

New Delhi: Stock markets opened flat on Monday but pared losses in early trade. The BSE Sensex was trading 57.01 points or 0.16 percent up at 34,905.31 while the NSE Nifty edged up 10.05 points at 10,606.45.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 166.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 149.58 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

The rupee declined 12 paise to a fresh 16-month low of 68.12 against a strengthening US dollar in early trade today after China and the US struck a deal to avert a trade war.

Both the benchmark Sensex and Nifty faltered during the week trade, lossing 687.49 points and 210.10 points each to breach the important support level of 35,000 and 10,600-level and concluded at 34,848.30 and 10,596.40 respectively.

The market languished under selling pressure entrapped by political uncertainty of Karnataka Assembly election result during the week trade.

Disturbing macro-datas of falling Industrial output- growth which fell to five month lows, acceleration in both retail (CPI) and Wholesale (WPI) inflation, volatile rupee and bond yields and above all hardening global crudeoil prices which peak USD 80 per barrel, led key indices caught under the bear-grip.

With PTI Inputs