Indian Markets Open Lower; Sensex Down Over 200 Points

Indian stock markets were trading lower on Friday, ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day. The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 227 points, or 0.85 percent at 26332.99. The 30-share index touched a high of 26,445.52 in morning trade. The Nifty50 fell 0.88 percent to 8120.90, after touching a high of 8,154.15 in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Midcap Index dropped 0.46 percent, while the BSE S&P Smallcap Index declined 0.40 percent.

The Indian rupee declined 3 paise to trade at 68.38 against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

Direxion Daily India Bull 2X Shares (NYSEARCA: INDL) fell 1.88 percent to close at $45.39 on Thursday, while PowerShares India Portfolio (ETF) (NYSEARCA: PIN) declined 0.87 percent to close at $19.30.

US stock markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.36 percent, the S&P500 index falling 0.35 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.36 percent.

US WTI crude futures on the NYMEX dropped 0.69 percent to trade at $50.71 per barrel.

Top market movers among the BSE index are as follows

• Meyer Apparel Ltd. shares gained around 19 percent to 4.04 INR.
• Parrys Sugar Industries Ltd. rose 18 percent to 52.45 INR.
• Parabolic Drugs Ltd. rose about 18 percent to 9.40 INR.
• Dollex Industries Ltd. shares surged 16 percent to 4.20 INR.

• ACI Infocom Ltd. shares dropped around 18 percent to 4.80 INR.
• Bronze Infra Tech Ltd. tumbled 17 percent to 2.19 INR.
• Rishi Laser Ltd. fell around 15 percent to 17.45 INR.
• Rathi Bars Ltd. shares declined 12 percent to 9.85 INR.