Market breaks 6-day winning run, but logs second weekly gain

Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) The Sensex on Friday recorded its first drop in seven sessions, edging down by over 42 points, and the Nifty broke below 7,900 following profit-booking amid mixed global leads, but both indices scored gains for the second straight week.

For the week, the BSE Sensex rose 211.39 points, or 0.82 per cent, and the NSE Nifty 48.85 points, or 0.62 per cent.

Overnight losses in the US, lacklustre corporate earnings by top US companies and the rupee, at 66.48, giving up some ground against the dollar soured mood.

ECB's expected policy stance failed to cheer the European market due to the underlying fear of deflation.

Investors held themselves back ahead of quarterly numbers from blue-chips, including Reliance Industries, due post trading hours. RIL shares shed 0.21 per cent to Rs 1,038.75.

The 30-share barometer opened a shade higher and settled lower by 42.24 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 25,838.14.

The index had risen about 1,207 points in the past six sessions -- its longest winning streak since March.

The 50-share NSE Nifty broke below the psychological 7,900-level and closed at 7,899.30, down 12.75 points, or 0.16 per cent.

Intra-day, it shuttled between 7,923.35 and 7,873.35.

"US equities' negative close on the backdrop of disappointing Q1 results obviously cast a shadow on Asian stocks," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas.

The uptrend in the previous six sessions came on the back of continuous foreign inflows amid positive macro numbers, IMD's forecast of an above-normal monsoon and Infosys' strong revenue guidance.

Hindustan Unilever took the biggest blow, plunging 2.04 per cent to Rs 884.30, followed by Asian Paints (1.84 per cent) at Rs 871.60.

HDFC, Sun Pharma, ITC, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, Infosys, GAIL, ICICI Bank, Wipro, TCS and Tata Steel lost too.

Of the 30-pack Sensex, 16 ended with losses, but 14 ended in the green, thus limiting the fall.

It was a mixed closing in Asia, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 0.72 per cent and Japan's Nikkei gaining 1.20 per cent. A lower opening in Europe made sentiment turn weak.

In terms of sectoral show, the BSE FMCG index got much hammering, down 0.78 per cent, followed by IT 0.57 per cent, technology 0.47 per cent and consumer durables 0.46 per cent.

Broader markets gave some reasons to cheer, with the mid-cap index firming up 0.08 per cent and small-cap 0.02 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased shares to the tune of Rs 805.42 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data.