Indian markets traded on a weak note during the morning session with the BSE Sensex at 17,263, down 99 points and the Nifty at 5,194, down 27 points.
US stocks snapped back on Thursday from a steep sell-off a day earlier, as Italian bond yields eased slightly and initial unemployment claims reached a 7-month low.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 112.92 points, or 0.96% at 11,893.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 10.60 points, or 0.86%, at 1,239.70. The Nasdaq composite edged up 4 points, or 0.1%.
In Asia, Asian shares rebounded modestly on Friday and the euro clung to tentative gains, after brighter corporate news lifted US stocks and debt-ladened Italy was able to fund itself at a bond auction. The Nikkei index is at 8,550, up 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite index is at 2,494, up 0.6% and the Hang Seng is at 19,200, up 1.3%.
Back home, technical analysts peg the support for the Nifty 5130 levels. The markets will also react to the Index of Industrial Production numbers to be announced later in the day.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE Metal, Realty, IT and Bankex indices, down 1-2% each, are the leading the losses.
Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, NMDC, JSW Steel, down 2-5% each, are the top losers from the metals space.
Infosys, MphasiS, TCS and Patni Computer Systems, down 1% each, are the major losers from the IT space.
ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, Punjab National Bank and SBI, down 1-2% each, are the prominent losers among the financials.
On the Sensex, Tata Steel has moved down 5% at Rs 429. Other prominent losers include Hindalco Industries, ICICI Bank, DLF and Tata Power, down 2% each.
Sun Pharma Industries, Tata Motors, JP Associates, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki, up 1-2% each, are the prominent gainers.
The overall market breadth is negative as 938 stocks decline against 892 advancing ones, on the BSE.