The BSE Sensex retreated for the second straight day on Friday, led by index heavyweight TCS which skidded following lower-than-expected margins for the third quarter.
The markets opened higher but failed to sustain the momentum as investors were skittish about corporate earnings season and preferred to take money off the table, traders said.
The 30-share Sensex opened on a strong note at 36,191.87 but succumbed to robust selling in afternoon trade. It finally settled 96.66 points, or 0.27%, lower at 36,009.84.
The broader NSE Nifty too slipped by 26.65 points to close at 10,794.95.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex gained 314.74 points, while the Nifty rose by 67.60 points.
IT bellwether TCS slipped 2.45% after it reported 24.1 per cent growth in net profit for the December quarter but disappointed on the margins front. The results were declared post market hours on Thursday.
Other losers in the Sensex pack included IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, TCS, Yes Bank and L&T, falling up to 3.26%.
Among the gainers were ITC, ONGC, Vedanta Ltd, Infosys, Axis Bank and HDFC, spurting up to 2.02%.
“TCS delivered a mixed bag for 3QFY19, with inline revenues, but tepid EBIT margin. Higher other income helped PAT, which was in line with estimates,” Centrum Broking said in a note.
On the macro front, rupee on Friday weakened by 8 paise to close at 70.49 against the US dollar on rise in demand for the American currency from exporters coupled with unabated rise in global crude oil prices.
Brent crude futures were trading 1.10% higher at USD 62.36 per barrel.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 344.58 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 10.98 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei jumped 0.97%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.55% while Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.60%.
In Europe, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.10% and Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.04% in early deals. London’s FTSE rose 0.16%.