Mumbai: Market benchmarks nursed losses on Friday after three days of gains as the unabated rise in Coronaviruscases and localised lockdowns prompted investors to unwind bets in banking, finance and infra counters.
A continuously depreciating rupee also sapped risk appetite, traders said.
After a fluctuating session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 154.89 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 49,591.32.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 38.95 points or 0.26 per cent to 14,834.85.
Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling 3.12 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, L&T and HDFC Bank.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, HUL, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's and Titan were among the gainers, climbing up to 3.69 per cent.
During the week, the Sensex declined 438.51 points or 0.87 per cent, while the Nifty shed 32.50 points or 0.21
per cent.
BSE metal, power, bankex, capital goods, finance and realty indices lost up to 1.11 per cent, while healthcare, FMCG, consumer durables, IT and teck rose as much as
2.32 per cent.
IT stocks remained in focus ahead of results next week.
In the broader markets, the BSE midcap index dipped 0.08 per cent, while the smallcap gauge spurted
0.69 per cent.