The Indian market ended Friday's session modestly lower, as worries about U.S. government debt and lingering eurozone concerns kept investors at bay. Also, investors awaited the release of European bank stress tests results for greater clarity on the global economic outlook.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex rose by over 100 points early in the session before paring gains and ending down 56 points or 0.30 percent lower at 18,562, with 22 of its components declining. The broader 50-share Nifty index slipped 19 points or 0.33 percent to 5,581, while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes closed little changed on the opposite sides of the unchanged line.
Metal, auto, realty, FMCG and banking stocks led the decliners, while IT stocks rose after TCS beat Street estimates with an impressive first-quarter earnings. TCS closed up a little over 2 percent after the country's largest software services exporter reported a 28 percent jump in first-quarter net profit. Rival Wipro gained 0.7 percent, but Infosys closed down 0.4 percent.
Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.8 percent), Reliance Industries (up 0.7 percent) and HDFC Bank (up 0.6 percent) were the other prominent gainers in the Sensex pack. SBI edged up 0.2 percent after the state-run lender said it would look at a combination of instruments to raise capital.
Among those that fell, Tata Motors fell 2.6 percent after the automaker reported a marginal decline in its global sales for June. Hero Honda Motors lost 1.3 percent and Maruti Suzuki edged down 0.1 percent.
Metal stocks such as Tata Steel, Hindalco and Sterlite Industries fell by 0.6-2.0 percent after base metal prices fell sharply on the London Metal Exchange overnight. State-run oil explorer ONGC lost 1.9 percent on reports that the government would launch follow-on public offering of the company in September.
Cipla fell 1.6 percent, Tata Power lost 1.3 percent, HDFC and Reliance Communication declined around 1.3 percent each, Reliance Infrastructure slipped 1.1 percent and Bharti Airtel closed down 0.9 percent.
VST Industries soared 8.6 percent after the cigarettes and tobacco products maker reported solid first-quarter earnings. BPCL rose half a percent and HPCL added 1.3 percent as crude prices slumped 2.4 percent in New York overnight. Likewise, shares of airline Jet Airways climbed 3.4 percent and rival Kingfisher Airlines added 0.4 percent, buoyed by the fall in crude oil prices.
Shares of real estate firm DB Realty edged up 0.7 percent after the real estate firm said a local development authority has canceled its township project in Pune. Apollo Hospitals gained 0.7 percent amid reports that it is raising Rs.330 crore via an institutional share placement.
TTK Prestige rose 1.4 percent on posting a 58 percent jump in quarterly net profit. Simbhaoli Sugars closed up 1.6 percent ahead of a board meet today to consider a demerger proposal. Suzlon Energy posted a modest 0.2 percent gain on winning a new order worth Rs 650 crore from Orient Green Power Company.
Elsewhere, the other Asian markets swung between gains and losses before closing mixed on Friday, as investors weighed positive U.S. data on weekly jobless claims and retail sales and a warning from Standard & Poor's that there was at least a 50 percent chance for a downgrade of U.S. government debt.
European stocks continued to show weakness ahead of today's publication of the results of the latest stress tests of European banks that may show around 10 banks have insufficient capital to withstand big shocks like a possible Greek debt default.
Meanwhile, with worries about a possible U.S. debt default mounting, euro zone leaders have postponed an emergency summit planned for this weekend to discuss a second bailout for Greece, reports said.
The U.S. index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street ahead of data due on industrial output, consumer sentiment and consumer price inflation. The major U.S. averages fell between 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent overnight as uncertainty over raising the Federal debt ceiling outweighed positive economic data.
Commodities eased further in Asian trading Friday following Thursday's sell-off as the dollar rose on safe-haven demand after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that no additional support is forthcoming.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.