Indian shares ended in the red on Friday, pulled lower by financials like Yes Bank Ltd and Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, ahead of a key trade meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The benchmark BSE index closed down 0.48% at 39,394.64 but recorded a 0.5% weekly gain, while the broader NSE index ended 0.45% lower at 11,788.85, but gained 0.55% in the week. Both the indexes closed higher for the first time in four weeks.
For the month, the NSE index shed 1.12%, while the BSE index settled 0.8% lower. Both the indexes posted their first fall in four months. Yes Bank Ltd closed 3.25% lower and Indiabulls ended down 3.15%. The meeting assumes significance as Trump and Modi talk trade, amid a tussle on tariffs and data storage between the nations. India slapped higher duties on 28 US products after the United States withdrew tariff-free entry for certain Indian goods. Washington is also upset with New Delhi's plans to restrict cross-border data flows and impose stricter rules on e-commerce that hurt US firms operating in India.
"No one wants to take a chance, because anything can happen in the next few days (at the G20 meet)," said Rusmik Oza, Head of Fundamental Research at Kotak Securities. "There is a bit of risk aversion right now in the system." Pharma majors Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were up 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively, and topped the list among bluechip stocks. The Nifty pharma index rose 1.2% and was the top boost to the markets for the day.
Among other gainers, Britannia Industries rose 1.22% and Adani Ports and SEZ was up 1.3%. Bharti stocks fell on Friday and were among the top of the losers list on the NSE index, after the Mint daily reported on Thursday that the London IPO of its Africa unit - Airtel Africa PLC - did not generate the gains that was hoped for. Bharti Airtel fell as much as 1.7%, while telecom tower company Bharti Infratel fell 2%.
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