Mumbai, Mar 16 (IANS): Indian equity markets traded in the negative territory during the mid-afternoon session on Friday with the BSE Sensex shedding over 300 points intra-day on the back of broadly negative Asian markets, along with heavy selling pressure in oil and gas, metals, auto and banking stocks.

Around 12.30 p.m., the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell by 88.45 points or 0.85 per cent to trade at 10,271.70 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 33,685.86 points, traded at 33,408.37 points down 277.17 points or 0.82 per cent from the previous session's close.

The Sensex cracked over 300 points to scale a low of 33,366.90 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,412 declines and 1,035 advances.

"Indian shares opened lower on Friday tracking weak Asian stocks. Top gainers on NSE were Mahindra and Mahindra, Auropharma and Zee, while top losers for the hour were BPCL, Indian Oil Corp and Tata Motors," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.

On Thursday, mixed sentiment observed in the global markets, along with a sell-off in all the sectors, led the benchmark indices to close in the red.

The NSE Nifty50 fell by 50.75 points or 0.49 per cent to close trade at 10,360.15 points, while the Sensex closed at 33,685.54 points -- down 150.20 points or 0.44 per cent.