Volatility prevailed ahead of the forthcoming industry output and inflation data and, following devaluation in the rupee value, a barometer index of the Indian equities ended flat on Friday.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) had plunged by 97.41 points or 0.38 percent on Thursday.
Volatility was also observed on the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It closed marginally higher by 1.20 points or 0.02 percent to 7,789.30 points.
The S&P BSE Sensex which opened at 25,793.77 points, closed at 25,610.21 points, down 11.96 points or 0.05 percent from the previous day's close at 25,622.17 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 25,875.96 points and a low of 25,530.41 points in the intra-day trade.
Analysts pointed out that the markets ended the day's trade in line with its Asian peers, and that investors remained wary of taking positions ahead of release of key industrial output data.
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"Indian markets traded flat in line with Asian markets, led by cautiousness ahead of the domestic IIP (Index of Industrial Production) data and the US Fed meet," Vaibhav Agrawal, vice president, research, Angel Broking, told IANS.
Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled by 0.27 percent, Japan's Nikkei index inched-down by 0.19 percent. However, the Shanghai Composite Index marginally gained by 0.08 percent.
"Broader markets too remained flat with breadth in favour of the advances. Investors remain wary of taking positions before the weekend," Agrawal added.
The IIP data will have a major bearing on the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the next phase of rate cuts during its upcoming monetary policy meet on September 29.
"Even though the markets have priced-in a below-average IIP on account of a decline in eight core industries (ECI), there is still anxiety over the extent of the downfall, especially given the concerns about global slowdown," Anand James, co-head, technical research desk with Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
The ECI for select factory output slowed to 1.1 percent growth in July from an increase of 3 percent in the previous month. The ECI's constituents contribute a whopping 38 percent to the IIP.
The factory output data, which comes with a month's lag, had accelerated to 3.8 percent in June from 2.7 percent in the previous month.
The IIP will be followed by the inflation data points of the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) on Monday.
The continued depreciation in rupee value also impacted investor sentiments. The rupee touched an intra-day high of 66.55 to a US dollar from its previous close of 66.43 to a greenback.
The rupee was trading at 66.54 to US dollar around 4.20 p.m.
Sector-wise, healthy buying was witnessed in information technology (IT), fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and healthcare sectors.
On the other hand, metals, capital goods, automobile, oil and gas and power stocks came under selling pressure.
The S&P BSE IT index gained by 47.82 points, FMCG index rose by 31.11 points and healthcare index was higher by 28.22 points.
The S&P BSE metal index plunged by 111.76 points, capital goods index receded by 83.76 points, automobile index declined by 50.82 points, oil and gas index was lower by 27.87 points and power index slipped by 1.77 points.
Major Sensex gainers in Friday's trade were: State Bank of India (SBI), up 1.12 percent at Rs.230.15; Wipro, up 1.07 percent at Rs.557.30; Infosys, up 0.96 percent at Rs.1,090.70; HDFC, up 0.88 percent at Rs.1,174.40; and Dr.Reddy's Lab, up 0.75 percent at Rs.4,003.
The major Sensex losers were: Tata Steel, down 3.02 percent at Rs.233.05; Vedanta, down 2.56 percent at Rs.97.10; Gail, down 2.48 percent at Rs.285.05; Tata Motors, down 2.46 percent at Rs.345.55; and BHEL, down 2.22 percent at Rs.211.75.