Indian shares closed unchanged after a volatile trading session on Friday as gains in energy stocks, following a recovery in crude prices, were offset by disappointing quarterly results from ICICI Bank Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd.

Also, weak global cues dampened the domestic sentiment.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 3.52 points or 0.01 per cent at 25,606.62 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 2.55 points or 0.03 per cent at 7,849.80.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most by 1.18 per cent, power 0.93 per cent, healthcare 0.76 per cent and metal 0.51 per cent. On the other hand, consumer durables index was down 0.97 per cent, TECk 0.62 per cent, IT 0.45 per cent and capital goods 0.24 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were Lupin (+1.94%), Cipla (+1.89%), HDFC Bank (+1.69%), Maruti (+1.24%) and Adani Ports (+1.21%), while the major losers were Bharti Airtel (-2.32%), State Bank of India (-1.67%), ICICI Bank (-1.48%), Reliance (-1.48%) and HUL (-1.14%).

Oil refiners Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd rose 1.6 per cent and Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd was up 0.18 per cent as oil prices edged to new 2016 highs.

ICICI Bank and HCL Technologies shed 1.3 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

However, analysts said the overall March-quarter earnings weren’t as bad as the market had initially feared.

Cement makers such as ACC and Ambuja Cements rose 0.34 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively after posting an increase in cement sales volume for the March quarter.

“With the prospect of commodities stabilising and earnings looking slightly better, there is an expectation that the earnings can bounce back to 18-20 per cent-odd levels and some bit of that is captured in the market, said Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Securities.

A report by SMC Global said: "Asia markets were mixed on the final trading day of the week, following a nearly 1 per cent or more decline in US equities overnight, while the yen saw fresh strength against the dollar. Overnight, US stocks closed lower, as fresh declines in Apple weighed on the major averages. Economic growth in the US slowed by even more than economists had anticipated in the first quarter. The report said gross domestic product rose by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter compared to the 1.4 per cent increase in the fourth quarter. Economists had expected the pace of growth to slow to 0.7 per cent."

Global markets

T he yen rallied to an 18-month high on Friday as investors wagered the Bank of Japan might be done adding fresh stimulus to the economy, weighing on stock markets around the world.

With Japan on holiday, speculators drove the yen through 107.00 per dollar for the first time since October 2014.

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