After belling the day on a negative note at 16,317.94, the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange stood 1.3% down as against its last closure, about 30 minutes into trade.

The Sensex was trading at 16,299.34, down 220.34 points (1.33%), from its previous closure at 16,519.68.

In the meantime, the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was trading 1.35% down at 4,880.9 from its previous close.

The BSE midcap index trading 1.89% lower and the BSE smallcap index was down by 2.26% on account of selling activity.

On Thursday, the Sensex closed positively at 16,519.68 after registering a gain of 111.19 points.

In contrast, the broad-based Nifty ended the day at 4,947.60, up 27.95 points, after hitting an intraday high of 4,980.25 and an intraday low of 4,924.30.

According to the broking house, Geojit PNB Paribas, "A renewed sell-off in global stocks may pull domestic bourses sharply lower today. Trading in S&P CNX Nifty index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicated that the Nifty could slump 108.50 points at the opening bell. Asian stock markets suffered heavy losses on Friday, as persistent worries over the euro zone debt crisis and its negative impact on the global economic recovery sent investors heading for the exit."