Meanwhile, crude oil prices plunged into a bear market and the US central bank kept key rates unchanged.The domestic stock markets started Friday's session on a negative note.

The SP BSE Sensex opened at 35,258.13 and the Nifty at 10,614.70.

In the first few minutes of trade, the Sensex was at 35,046.44, down 191.24 points or 0.54 per cent and the Nifty was at 10,576.10, with a loss of 22.30 points or 0.21 per cent.

At the time of writing this report, the 30-share Sensex had shed as much as 226.45 points while the Nifty as much as 53.55 points.Bharti Airtel, HDFC, State Bank of India, JSW Steel and Yes Bank were the top drags in the Nifty pack.Meanwhile, crude oil prices plunged into a bear market and the US central bank kept key rates unchanged.