Markets reversed sharp intra-day losses to end tad higher on Friday led by banks after better-than-expected earnings from the country's largest lender, State Bank of India, eased worries over credit growth and non-performing assets in the banking sector.
The 30-shares Sensex ended at 16,153 gaining 82 points.
It reached an intra-day high of 16,206 and touched an intra-day low of 15,810 levels.
The 50-share Nifty ended at 4891 levels rising by 21 points. It reached the day's high of 4,909 and touched a low of 4,789 levels.
Meanwhile, the rupee has continued to depreciate and touched an all time low of 54.82 against the dollar early today. Barclays Capital expects spot rupee to hit 56 in one month and then subsequently rise only to 54 within three months; the USD/INR is currently at 54.71.
On the global front, Japan's Nikkei average shed 3% on Friday to log a seventh straight week of losses, its longest such run since the third quarter of 2001, as investors sold stocks and other risky assets on concerns over slowing global growth and a deepening euro zone crisis.
The Nikkei fell 265.28 points to 8,611.31, taking its decline to 16% since hitting a one-year high on March 27.
Hang Seng, Strait Times, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai plunged between 1-4%. European markets opened weak with CAC, DAX and FTSE dipping between 0.3-1%.
Back home, BSE Bankex zoomed over 2% followed by counters like FMCG, PSU and Oil & Gas, all gaining by nearly 1% each.
BSE Auto and Capital Goods indices declined between 1-2%.
Among Sensex shares, State Bank of India rallied over 5% to Rs 1,942, bouncing back over 5% from intra-day's low of Rs 1,820 after reporting better-than-expected net profit at Rs 4,050 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2012, due to lower provisioning and higher other income.
Analysts on average had expected net profit at Rs 3,477
crore from India's largest lender.
Other banking shares like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained between 1-3%.
Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys gained nearly 1% each.
RIL gained on reports that the company is buying back shares.
Other notable gainers include Sterlite, NTPC, GAIL, JSPL, M&M, ONGC, DLF and Cipla.
On the losing side, most of the major auto companies ended in the negative zone.
Tata Motors was the top Sensex loser down 4% to Rs 260 after the company said its global sales remained flat in April at 87,377 units over the same period last year.
Maruti Suzuki slipped 3% at Rs 1,165. According to media reports, India's largest car maker have downscaled its proposed investment plans in Mehasana, Gujarat.
Tata Steel was down 1.5% ahead of its numbers. Other Sensex losers include Bajaj Auto, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco Coal India, TCS and Bharti Airtel.
Meanwhile, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended marginally lower, declining between 0.2-0.3%.
The market breadth in BSE ended negative with 1,465 shares declining and 1,226 shares advancing.
In the Midcap and Smallcap space, Akzo Nobel India ended 4% higher at Rs 879 after the company announced buyback of its own equity shares from shareholders.
Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) tanked 8% on reports that the company's account with the State Bank of India's Overseas Branch has been frozen by the investigation authority.
Future Capital Holdings ended 6% higher, bouncing back 7% from intra-day's low of Rs 128 on back of huge block deal on the counter on the National Stock Exchange.
Shares of aviation companies such as Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Kingfisher Airlines have rallied between 3-9% reports that the government may clear the proposal of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the aviation sector in the next few weeks.
Markets reversed sharp intra-day losses to end tad higher on Friday led by banks after better-than-expected earnings from the country's largest lender, State Bank of India, eased worries over credit growth and non-performing assets in the banking sector.