Sensex opens in the red; MTNL, Jubilant Foodworks up

The Indian equity markets came off the recent highs despite steady cues from the Asian markets.

The Sensex was 20024.90, down 0.5 percent and the Nifty 6078.40, down 0.47 percent.

According to Reuters, Japan's Nikkei share average is set to test eight-month highs above 10,000 as investor appetite is boosted by signs of progress in the US fiscal talks and expectations of aggressive monetary easing under the new Japanese government.

. Reuters

Domestically, the country's industrial production growth accelerated to 2.5 percent in March from a year earlier.

Manufacturing, which constitutes about 76 percent of industrial production, grew 3.2 percent from a year earlier, the statistics office said. Capital goods production, a barometer for investments in the economy, grew an annual 6.9 percent from a year earlier.

Though the data may be an evidence of the slow recovery, worries about current account deficit have not yet receded. The RBI, in its recent policy review, had said that it would even affect a policy reversal if the CAD situation worsens.

Stocks in news

Jubilant Foodworks was up 1.6 percent on value buying after its sharp decline last week.

MTNL rose 2.4 percent after news reports that the government is likely to trifurcate the company and the other telecom behemoth BSNL.

With inputs from Reuters