Sensex, Nifty open in red

Monday,   22-Apr-2019   09:44 AM (IST)

Indian equities market opened in red on Monday with heavyweight companies including Reliance Induatries and HDFC Bank losing in early trade. The BSE Sensex opened over 100 points lower and was trading 218 points lower at 38,926.37 at 9:22 AM. Similarly, NSE Nifty50 was trading 81 points lower at 11,671.7. The drag was led by RIL (down 1.83 per cent), Kotak Bank (down 1.7 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 0.96 per cent) and HDFC (down 0.74 per cent). Oil Marketing Companies too dragged the indices after news reports suggsted that US President Donal Trump might impose restrictions on "all import" on Iranian oil. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was down 5.16 per cent at Rs 252.85 apiece, followed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) which was down 3.17 per cent and was trading at Rs 151 apiece.  Rupee opened lower at Rs 69.75/$ which further slipped to Rs 69.81/$ on the back of greater demand for greenback for oil imports. Asian stocks were steady on Monday as investors awaited the return of major financial markets from the Good Friday holiday. Equities markets were subdued, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan trading little changed.