(Reuters) -India’s stock benchmarks opened lower on Friday, tracking other Asian peers, after the U.S. jobs data failed to provide clarity on interest rate cuts.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.32% to 26,109.55, while the BSE Sensex was down 0.33% at 85,347.4, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Both indexes Nifty settled less than 0.5% below their all-time highs reached in September 2024 in the previous session.
All 16 major sectors declined at the open, though the losses were marginal. The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell about 0.1% each.
Other Asian markets slid 2.3%, after a 1% rise on Thursday, while Wall Street equities declined overnight after data showed acceleration in employment growth in September, dampening hopes of a U.S. rate cut in December.
Higher rates tend to make emerging markets such as India less attractive for overseas investors.
Concerns over inflated tech valuations also resurfaced, dragging U.S. stocks down, overshadowing Nvidia’s consensus-beating quarterly results. [MKTS/GLOB]
($1 = 88.6900 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sonia Cheema)
