The Indian markets ended little changed on Friday as investors awaited industrial output data due out later in the day to gauge the health of the domestic economy. Investors also took some profits in recent outperformers awaiting cues from the upcoming earnings season.
Paris-based think tank Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that economic growth is accelerating in the euro zone and in India even as growth is easing in China and elsewhere. Meanwhile, after Moody's ratings outlook upgrade, Fitch Ratings has maintained its stable outlook for India.
In another significant development, India should remove the limits on corporates' external commercial borrowings, the M S Sahoo committee, which was set up to review domestic and overseas capital markets, said in its report submitted to the government.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex slipped 5.83 points or 0.02 percent to close at 28,879.38. The broader CNX Nifty index edged up 2.05 points or 0.02 percent to 8,780.35, while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes gained 0.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Healthcare stocks extended losses, with Lupin and Cipla losing 2-3 percent. Hindalco Industries dropped 1.6 percent, Tech Mahindra lost 1.5 percent, HDFC Bank shed 1.4 percent, Hero MotoCorp declined 1.2 percent and HDFC retreated 1.1 percent.
Suzlon Energy tumbled 3.3 percent on a brokerage downgrade. CMC slid half a percent on disappointing quarterly results. Biotechnology firm Biocon eased 0.2 percent after receiving approval for its insulin Glargine from the Mexican health authority.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam soared 6.5 percent after receiving income tax refund for the assessment year 2006-2007 amounting to Rs 129.82 crore.
Rating agency shares were in demand after data showed FIIs have increased their stake in these companies. CRISIL advanced 1.7 percent and ICRA rallied 5.7 percent.
IDFC rose 2.1 percent after it received shareholder nod for the demerger of its financial undertaking into IDFC Bank. SpiceJet rose 1.6 percent after rejigging top management.
Havells India added 2.5 percent on the back of a huge block deal on the exchanges. Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group shares were in demand, with Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power rising 3-5 percent, while Reliance Communications climbed nearly 13 percent.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel rose 0.6 percent and Idea Cellular rallied 4.3 percent after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reduced ceiling tariffs for national roaming calls and text messages from May 1.
On the global front, Asian stocks closed mostly higher after Greece repaid a 450 million euro loan it owed the International Monetary Fund. A set of strong economic reports from the euro-currency bloc and continued hopes that China's central bank could ease its monetary policy further also underpinned investor sentiment heading into the weekend.
The European markets have also risen in early trading amid optimism Europe's economic recovery is taking hold.
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