Opening Bell: Sensex falls 100 points, Nifty slips below 11,150 dragged by private banks

The BSE Sensex and NSE's Nifty50 opened lower on Friday as investors await economic growth data for the July-September quarter of the FY2019-20. The Sensex was trading 115 points lower at 41,015, while the Nifty lost 35 points to trade at 12,115 as of 9.17 AM.

India's GDP growth is likely to have dipped below 5 percent in the Q2FY20 on the back of weak consumer demand, slowing factory activities and negative impacts of the prolonged monsoon. A CNBC-TV18 poll projected Q2 GDP growth of 4.64 percent, down from 5 percent in the Q1FY20 and 7 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

Among broader markets, Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices outperformed benchmark indices, up 0.1 percent each.

Yes Bank, Zee, GAIL, Sun Pharma, and UltraTech Cement were the top gainers on the Nifty, while Bharti Infratel, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Reliance Industries, and UPL led the losses.

Major selling was seen in private banks and metal indices. The Nifty Metal index fell the most, down 0.5 percent, followed by Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank, which fell 0.2 percent each. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto also declined 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Among gainers, Nifty Media rose 0.6 percent, while Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty added 0.2 percent each.

Indiabulls Housing Finance surged 9 percent after CLSA retained 'buy' rating on the stock and raised its target price to Rs 450 per share from Rs 350 earlier.

Globally, Stocks in Asia were mixed in Friday morning trade as investors continue to watch for developments on U.S.-China trade following a recent escalation in tensions over Hong Kong. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.24 percent in early trade, the Topix also advanced 0.11 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.07 percent higher.