Market Opens on Flat Note amid Weak Asian Cues

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a flat note on Thursday amid a weak trend in Asian peers and foreign fund outflow. 

The 30-share BSE index was trading 36.88 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 52,445.83 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty inched 5.50 points or 0.03 per cent down to 15,716.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys and UltraTech Cement.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Asian Paints, Maruti, Titan, Kotak Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.

Sensex ended 66.95 points or 0.13 per cent lower at 52,482.71, and Nifty slipped 26.95 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 15,721.50, on Wednesday. 

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,646.66 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.

India logged 48,786 Covid cases in 24 hours, and the death toll rose to 3,99,459 with 1,005 fresh fatalities. According to Union Health Ministry data, the total tally of the cases stands at 3,04,11,634. 

The rupee dropped 5 paise to 74.37 against the US dollar in early trade.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo were trading with losses in mid-session deals.

Equities on Wall Street largely ended with gains in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.20 per cent higher at $74.77 per barrel.