Equity markets failed to hold on the early gains of the morning, with profit booking in the last half hour taking the Sensex down 104 points (0.37 per cent) to 28,458.10 and the Nifty down 26 points (0.3 per cent) to 8,538.30.

Mid-cap indices took a day-end beating, with the BSE index closing down 27 points (10,498.29) and the CNX mid-cap down nearly 69 points to 12,667.80.

All major sectoral indices also closed the last session of the week in the red, with FMCG and realty the only exceptions.

The biggest individual gainers on the NSE were DLF (up five per cent), Ambuja Cements (up over three per cent) and M&M (up 2.36 per cent). Dr Reddy’s (down 2.44 per cent), TechMahindra (2.42 per cent) and TCS (2.39 per cent) lost the most on Friday.

Volatility was pronounced on Friday, with the India Vix index down 3.98 per cent to 11.95.

Asian markets, on the other hand, ended the week on a high. Hang Seng moved up 170 points while the Shanghai Composite index was up nearly 40 points.

Global markets

European shares rebounded on Friday, recouping some of the sharp losses suffered in the previous session, as investors positioned for strong US jobs data which would underpin expectations about growth in the world's largest economy.

Asian shares drifted while the dollar marked time on Friday ahead of the key US jobs report later in the session that could help it retake ground lost to the euro overnight.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent, on track for a weekly loss of 0.8 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average slipped 0.2 per cent, but was on track for a weekly gain of more than 2 per cent.

Major Wall Street indexes inched down on Thursday, but the Dow Jones industrial average briefly rose to set a record intra-day high.

Brent crude slipped below $70 a barrel on Friday and was set for a second weekly fall, with Saudi Arabia cutting prices in another indication it would maintain output in an oversupplied market.

Gold was heading for its biggest weekly gain in nine months on Friday as a modest bounce in oil prices boosted the demand for the metal as an inflation-hedge, but investors were nervous ahead of a key US jobs report that could trigger sharp moves.

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