Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Feb 18: Investors were focused on the East-West impasse over Ukraine, which has roiled markets this week, as the stock market opened lower on Friday, pushed by IT and financial companies.
The NSE Nifty 50 index down 0.17 percent, or 29.70 points, to 17,274.90 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.18 percent, or 102.02 points, to 57,789.99 points. If the losses continue, both indices will fall for the second week in a row.
On Thursday, shelling in Ukraine reawakened Western fears of a Russian invasion, prompting a selloff in global stocks.
However, Asian stock markets pared their losses on Friday when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accepted an invitation to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later this week, if Russia does not invade Ukraine.
The Nifty IT index was down 0.9 percent, while the banking index was down 0.5 percent.
On a stock-by-stock basis, Cipla was the highest Nifty loss, falling 1.42 percent to Rs. 915. Among the laggards were Wipro, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, and Infosys.
Coal India, UPL, NTPC, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), and Maruti Suzuki India, on the other hand, were among the winners.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was relatively poor, with 1,232 shares rising and 1,296 falling.
Wipro, TechM, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Nestle India, HCL Tech, and Asian Paints suffered the greatest losses on the 30-share BSE platform, with their shares falling as much as 1.39 percent.
