FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty open lower as sentiment turns cautious ahead of key data in US

Indian equities tracking mixed Asian markets opened lower as investors grew anxious ahead of the key jobs data in the US.  At the open, Nifty opened lower by 0.15 per cent at 25,107.65, while the Sensex was down 0.15 per cent at 82,077.56 points.

Sectorally, it was a mixed bag, with few of the pockets including IT, metal, media, realty, consumer durable in the green, while other indices FMCG and banking trading down by up to 0.75 per cent.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The near-term trend in the market will be influenced by the US jobs data to be published tonight. There is a consensus that the Fed will cut rates in the September meeting but the extent of the cut will be determined by the jobs data. If the August jobs numbers come lower than market expectations and the unemployment rises higher than market expectations, the Fed may even cut by 50 bps."