Indian shares edged down on Friday after two straight sessions of gains as investors worries over trade relations ahead of a key meeting of global leaders.
The markets fell as the investors booked profit in stocks such as Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd.
Asian shares also slipped as risk appetite soured on bets that Europe’s massive monetary stimulus was nearing an end, reports Reuters.
The broader NSE index was down 0.37 per cent at 10,728.75 as of 0604 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.35 per cent lower at 35,337.22.
Both the indexes were on track to post their third consecutive weekly gain.
HDFC and Larsen & Toubro Ltd were among the top drag on both indexes, dropping as much as 1.1 per cent each.
Oil marketing firms Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd fell, hurt by higher oil prices on Venezuela’s supply struggles and ongoing output cuts led by OPEC.
The Nifty pharma index rose as much as 2.9 per cent, but looked set to post a weekly gain, its second in three weeks.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd jumped 5.7 per cent, while Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd rose 3.3 per cent. Both stocks led gains on the NSE index.
Shriram EPC Ltd climbed as much as 10.5 per cent after the construction engineering firm posted strong March-quarter results on Thursday.
Shares of Housing finance companies have been correcting on margin concerns due to rising bond yields, according to brokerage firm Jefferies.