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Benchmark indices extended losses in noon deals as investors booked profits after five sessions of gains ahead of industrial production (IIP) numbers for February due to be released later in the day.
At 1.15 PM, the 30-share Sensex is down 91 points at 28,794 and the 50-share Nifty has shed 33 points at 8,746.
At 1.15 PM, the 30-share Sensex is down 91 points at 28,794 and the 50-share Nifty has shed 33 points at 8,746.
Sentiments dampened further after Fitch reported that India's relatively weak business environment and standards of governance, as well as widespread infrastructure bottlenecks, will not change overnight, but there is ample room for improvement .
RUPEE
The rupee edged up to trade at 62.37 at mid-session. In early trade the rupee had depreciated by 15 paise to 62.39 against the dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange as the American currency firmed up overseas on an upbeat US jobs report.
CRUDE OIL
Brent crude edged up on Friday, supported by strong economic data from Germany that lifted the oil demand outlook and as worries about a quick return of Iranian supplies eased.
KEY STOCKS
On the sectoral front, BSE Healthcare index is the top loser sown 1% followed by Capital Goods, FMCG and Bankex. However, BSE Realty, Power, Consumer Durables are trading high up to 1.3%.
Cipla lost over 2% after international brokerage CLSA downgraded the stock from 'underperform' to 'sell'.
Hindalco dropped over 1% after global aluminum giant's first quarter earnings missed estimates.
State Bank of India advanced 2% after the global brokerage Barclays maintained its 'overweight' stance on SBI for a target of Rs 353. Barclays expects operating efficiency through better performance.
Bharti Airtel is trading flat with a negative bias after the Telecom Regulator Authority of India reduced the tariffs on roaming for outgoing local calls and incoming calls on roaming. It has also mandated telecom service providers to offer a special roaming plan.
Oil and Gas majors ONGC and RIL are trading higher after Brent crude edged up on Friday.
Domestic passenger car sales grew 2.64% to 1,76,011 units in March, from 1,71,491 units in the same month of last year. Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki have gained up to 0.5%.
On the other hand, motorcycle sales last month dipped 5.22% to 8,59,521 units as against 9,06,901 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Reacting to the news, Hero Motocorp and Baja Auto have dipped up to 0.5%.
Shares of IDFC are up 2% after the company said it has got the shareholders approval for the demerger of its financial undertaking into IDFC Bank.
BSE Midacap and Smallcap indices are outperforming the large counterparts and are trading higher between 0.5-1%.
The market breadth is firm on the BSE with 1,514 advances versus 1,065 declines.
ASIAN MARKET
Japan's Nikkei share average topped the psychological 20,000-point mark on Friday for the first time in 15 years on hopes of stronger corporate earnings, and gained 2.4% on the week.
The Nikkei rose as high as 20,006 before ending down 0.2% at 19,907.63.
The rally has been driven by many factors, including hopes of higher shareholder returns, a rise in corporate earnings, a recovery in domestic consumption and more share buying, both real and imagined, by Japanese public investors.
The market expects Japanese earnings to rise 10 to 15% this year, but with the Nikkei already up 14% so far this year, some investors see limited justification to chase them much higher.
