The key Indian equity indices opened on a negative note on Friday with the BSE Sensex falling over 400 points in the first one hour of trading. At 9.17 a.m., Sensex was trading at 50,430.11, lower by 415.97 points or 0.82 per cent from its previous close of 50,846.08.
The Sensex opened at 50,517.36 and touched an intraday high of 50,547.00 and a low of 50,311.47 points and the Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 14,964.00, lower by 116.75 points or 0.77 per cent from its previous close.
Selling pressure was witnessed in banking, finance and metal stocks, while buying took place in oil and gas and energy stocks. The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki India while IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were the major losers.
India's key equity indices snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday as global concerns over rising bond yields resurfaced.
Global oil prices surge
Meanwhile, oil prices gained considerably after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to extend most oil output cuts into April.
The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery added $2.55 to settle at $63.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery increased $2.67 to close at $66.74 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
OPEC+ approved the continuation of current production levels for April, except that Russia and Kazakhstan will be allowed to increase production by 130,000 and 20,000 barrels per day, respectively, the group said in a statement on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, said it would extend its voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per day, and would decide in coming months when to gradually phase it out.
