Sensex ends flat, Nifty above 7,700-mark ahead of key US jobs data; Dr Reddy's top loser

The S&P BSE Sensex on Friday pared some losses to end the day 33 points lower, while broader CNX Nifty managed to hold above its key 7,700-mark.

The headline indices settled the day flat on caution ahead of a US payrolls report for April that could influence bets on future US rate hikes.

The 30-share index ended the day at 25,228, down 33.71 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 7,733, down 2.05 points at close.

Market breadth remained negative with 17 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in red.

Analysts expect US nonfarm jobs to have increased by 202,000 jobs in April, a sign of economic resilience that could allow the Federal Reserve to gradually raise interest rates this year.

Despite the fall, analysts said Indian shares would likely remain supported in the months ahead after January-March earnings proved resilient and as the monsoon is expected to be above average.

"Overall, India macro situation remains very healthy and good and some of the sectors are beginning to show significant improvement, especially infrastructure," said Vinay Khattar, senior VP-head research at Edelweiss Securities.

"Liquidity will remain normal and India will continue to attract flows given the macro scenario and pickup in demand," he added.

Dr Reddy's stock was the worst performer on both the benchmark indices and lost over 2 per cent.

ITC stock ended flat after hitting a two-month low earlier in the sesssion as the tobacco company shut cigarette plants to comply with a new stipulated pictorial warnings rule issued by the government.

 

Adani Port and Special Economic Zone fell 1.86 per cent, taking the week's decline to 18 per cent, the biggest weekly loss since October 2008 after its March-quarter results failed to cheer investors.

Among the gainers, Bharti Airtel rose 0.96 per cent after India's largest telecoms network operator divested 950 telecom towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Helios Towers Africa to reduce debt.

(With inputs from Reuters)