Indian equity benchmarks ended almost near day’s low on Friday, snapping a five-week winning streak on mostly some profit booking. The NSE Nifty and the BSE Sensex lost ~1.3% each during the week.
 
On Friday, Indian stocks opened with a negative gap, as disappointing operating margins posted by IT bellwether Infosys and muted full-year constant currency guidance.

Overseas markets were also not very supportive, with the US and Asian indices mixed and European markets mostly in the red.

From there on markets managed to rise to a high of 5,725 ahead of the IIP data. The main indices witnessed whipsaw movement owing to selling pressure in  IT, Telecom, Realty, Telecom and Auto stocks.
 
On the other hand, Consumer Durables, Pharma and FMCG indices bucked the negative trend.
 
The BSE Sensex closed at 18,675, down 129 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 18,844 and a day's low of 18,638. It opened at 18,727.

The NSE Nifty ended at 5,676, down 32 points over the previous close. It earlier touched a day’s high of 5,725 and a day’s low of 5,659. It opened at 5,681.

The broader indices, which were holding up well earlier also gave up all their gains. The BSE Mid-Cap index and the BSE Small-Cap index ended flat.

Most sectoral indices also ended with losses. Pressured by Infosys’ results, the IT and Teck pack were the biggest losers, down 2.6% and 2.3% respectively. 

Realty, Auto, Capital Goods, PSU and Bankex were the other losing indices. On the other hand, Consumer Durables, Pharma and FMCG were the only winners among the sectorals.

ACC, Lupin, Ambuja Cements and JP Associates were the top gainers on the Sensex and the Nifty. Cement stocks rose after brokerage CLSA upgraded the Indian cement sector to ‘overweight’.

Infosys, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, IDFC, Hero MotoCorp and Bank of Baroda were the top losers on both indexes.

On the BSE 500 index, Bombay Dyeing, India Cements, Jubilant Life Sciences, Wockhardt, Ess Dee Aluminium and DB Realty were the notable leaders. 

TTK Prestige, JB Chemicals, Sun Pharma, Infosys and Tulip Telecom were the notable laggards on the index.
 
The INDIA VIX on NSE ended flat at 16.49. It hit a day’s high of 16.82 and a day’s low of 15.37.

Domestically, India's industrial production grew by 2.7% for the month of August 2012 over the corresponding month of the previous year, the Government said on Friday. Data compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that industrial production in August last year expanded by 3.4%

The monthly growth rates of the three sectors that constitute the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) - Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity - for the month stood at 2.0%, 2.9% and 1.9%, respectively.

The Government today revised lower the IIP growth rate for July to (-)0.2% from the provisional estimate of 0.1%

Meanwhile, provisional annual inflation rate based on all-India general CPI (combined) for September 2012 on a point-to-point basis stood at 9.73%. The corresponding provisional inflation rates for Rural and Urban areas stood at 9.79% and 9.72%, respectively.

Shares of Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini, Dhampur Sugar and Shree Renuka gained on Friday after a government panel recommended scrapping of state control on the marketing of sugar in the country.
 
The committee, headed by Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) C. Rangarajan, also suggests doing away with levy sugar obligation for mills.
 
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi today Rangarajan said that the Government should buy sugar from the market for sale to the poor.
 
Globally, Asian markets closed mixed, with indices in China, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong closing higher while those in Japan ended lower.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was poised for its biggest weekly drop since August after the IMF cut its global growth forecasts and warned of a steeper slowdown unless the US and Europe address risks to their economies.

Singapore’s dollar rose after the central bank unexpectedly maintained its policy stance of a modest and gradual appreciation of the currency even as the economy contracted in the three months through September.

Separately, Japan’s government has cut its assessment of the nation’s economy for a third straight month, the longest streak since the 2009 global recession.

European stock indices fell today at start, with oil firms and drug makers on the decline.

The Nifty managed to close above earlier breakout levels of 5630 levels. The 5630 levels remains key pivot point for current uptrend and a close below the same could lead to unwinding pressure in the markets. Indian market has been decoupling from global peers on the back of slew of reforms from central government. A move in USD-INR below 53 levels will keep the positive momentum intact.

Also Read…IIP figures fail to impress markets as Infosys results, guidance disappoint