Range-bound Indian equities trade in negative territory

Mumbai, March 20 (IANS) Indian equities opened on a weak note Friday and were ruling in the negative territory, amid range-bound trading, on weak cues from the US and mixed signals from other Asian peers.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 8,951.34 points, as against the previous close at 9,001.75 points, and hit a low of 8,894.06 points as trading progressed.

An hour-and-a-half into trading, the key index was ruling at 8,942.37 points, with a loss of 59.38 points, or 0.66 percent, over the previous day's close, data with the bourse showed.

But for metals, consumer durables and fast-moving consumer goods, all the 13 sector-specific indices were ruling in the red. While the small-cap index was trading in the green, the index for mid-cap stocks were in the red.

Hindustan Aluminium, Tata Power and Tata Steel led the losers among the 30 Sensex shares, while the losers were led by Larsen and Toubro, ICICI Bank and DLF. On the whole, 961 scrips advanced, 1,010 shares declines and 94 remained unchanged.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty index was ruling at 2,793.40 points, to register a loss of 0.49 percent over the previous day's close at 2,807.15 points.