Opening bell: Sensex plunges 306 points to 62,979, Nifty in red at 18,733

Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a bearish note on Friday, halting their eight-day rally, amid a weak trend in global markets.

After beginning the trade on a negative note, the 30-share BSE Sensex further declined 305.61 points to 62,978.58. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 79.65 points to 18,732.85.

Among the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints and Nestle were among the major laggards.

Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and ITC were the winners.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

Wall Street had ended mostly lower on Thursday.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 184.54 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 63,284.19, its fresh record closing high, on Thursday. The Nifty advanced 54.15 points or 0.29 per cent to end at 18,812.50, its new record closing high.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.30 per cent higher at USD 87.14 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth ₹1,565.93 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.