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The Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Friday, reversing earlier losses, on bargain-hunting in consumer durables, metal and PSU stocks amid weak global cues.
The broader NSE index closed up 52.75 points or 0.53 per cent at 10,066.40, while the benchmark BSE index ended higher by 87.53 points or 0.27 per cent at 32,325.41.
Both indexes posted gains for the fifth straight week with the NSE index gaining 0.52 per cent and the BSE index rising 0.05 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables was the star-performer and was up 4.21 per cent, followed by oil & gas 2.63 per cent, metal 2.5 per cent and PSU 2.45 per cent, while only healthcare index was down 0.94 per cent.
Healthcare stocks were down after the US health regulator found quality lapses at a facility of Biocon Ltd.
The findings of the US Food and Drug Administration mark another blow to the Indian pharmaceutical industry, which has faced regulatory sanctions and warnings over quality control to inadequate standards.
Top five Sensex gainers were Hero MotoCorp (+3.11%), Coal India (+3.04%), Tata Steel (+2.85%), NTPC (+2.78%) and HUL (+1.91%), while the major losers were Dr Reddy's (-3.76%), Sun Pharma (-1.85%), Reliance (-1.76%), Bharti Airtel (-0.78%) and HDFC (-0.27%).
Regulatory issues
“For healthcare companies, there are issues which are progressively getting resolved,” said Rakesh Tarway, head of research at Reliance Securities.
However, there are growth issues because of the price erosion in the U.S. market, so healthcare companies will be under pressure for some time, he added.
Shares of Biocon fell as much as 7.6 per cent, posting their biggest intraday fall in five months, after the USFDA issued 10 observations pointing at aseptic practices following an inspection at the drugmaker's plant in Bengaluru.
Almost all constituents of the Nifty pharma index , which shed as much as 2.5 per cent in what could be its third straight session of decline, were in red.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd dropped as much as 4.5 per cent, while Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd fell over 3 percent.
Reliance Industries, the top drag on the NSE index, fell as much as 2.1 per cent after two consecutive sessions of gains as investors locked in profits. The stock hit a record high on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Indian Oil Corp Ltd gained as much as 5.1 per cent after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday.
Asian shares
Asian stocks inched up on Friday after a technology-led drop on Wall Street, while US Treasury yields and the dollar were pressured by news Special Counsel Robert Mueller had issued grand jury subpoenas in his investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent, although the gains were kept in check by the reluctance of many investors to stake out fresh positions ahead of US job data later in the global day.
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