At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 281.72 points or 0.45% to 62,957.17. The Nifty 50 index lost 93.80 points or 0.50% to 18,677.45.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.91% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap fell 0.88%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 928 shares rose and 1771 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 693.28 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 219.42 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 June, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta fell 0.61%. Vedanta clarified that media reports indicating that the company is selling its Sterlite Copper Plant, Thoothukudi are wrong, baseless and incorrect. Sterlite Copper is a national asset and had contributed to 40% of India's copper. As the Country has become a net importer of copper, which has adversely impacted inter-alia the downstream and ancillary industries and hence, there has been a growing demand for Vedanta-Sterlite Copper to restart its operations.

Wipro declined 0.60%. The IT major announced the inauguration of its new office at Sable Park, Century City, in Cape Town, underscoring its commitment to clients in the region.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) slipped 1.53%. A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 28 June 2023 to consider the various modalities for capital infusion including rights issue, for achieving energy transition, net zero and energy security objectives.

Landmark Cars rallied 3.87% after TPG Capital is reportedly looking to exit its investments in auto retailer by selling its about 11% stake through a block deal valued at about Rs 300 crore. The private equity firm would sell over 4.4 million shares on Friday, as per reports.

PNB Housing Finance declined 1.27%. The board of directors of PNB Housing Finance approved issuance of non - convertible debentures in tranches aggregating up to Rs 5,000 crore on private placement basis.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.11% to 7.094 from previous close of 7.086.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.0500, compared with its close of 81.9700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 August 2023 settlement declined 0.11% to Rs 58,133.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.19% to 102.58.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.35% to 3.7785.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2023 settlement lost 53 cents or 0.71% to $73.61 a barrel.

Global Market:

Most of the Asian stocks declined on Friday as investors look to inflation data out of Japan and Singapore, as well as flash estimates from the au Jibun bank on Japan's manufacturing and services activity. Mainland Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday Friday.

Japan's business activity expanded at a slower rate in June, according to flash estimates by the au Jibun bank. The composite purchasing managers index fell to 52.3 in June, compared to 54.3 in May. Japan's inflation rate slowed in May. Japan's headline inflation rate came in at 3.2% in May, easing from the 3.5% recorded in April. Japan's core inflation rate in May eased slightly to 3.2% year-on-year, lower than April's 3.4% but still above the BOJ's 2% target.

US stocks rose on Thursday as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell wrapped up his congressional testimony.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell faced multiple questions Thursday about where interest rates are heading, but he said the focus instead should be on how quickly the Fed is moving. Policymakers, he insisted, are still committed to using rates to bringing down inflation, but are going to move more slowly than they had been during an aggressive run of hikes going back to March 2022.