IANS

Mumbai, Nov 20: After ending nearly 215 points down a day before, a key Indian equities index opened on a weak note yet again Friday in line with the mood in other Asian markets on concerns over the short-to-medium term global economic outlook.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened the day at 16,772.75 points, against Thursday's close at 16,785.65 points and dipped sharply to 16,667.94 points minutes into trading.

Some 15 minutes thereafter, the key index was ruling at 16,719.77 points, with a loss of 65.88 points, or 0.39 percent, data with the exchange showed.

In fact, all the 13 sector-specific indices of the exchange were in the negative territory. Among the 30 Sensex stocks, 20 were in the red, with state-run power utility NTPC leading the gainers, while Reliance Infrastructure led the losers.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 4,962.75 points, against the previous close at 4,989 points, with a loss of 24.45 points, or 0.53 percent.