The domestic equity benchmarks ended with small losses after a volatile session on Friday. Pharma, IT, FMCG and PSU banks shares advanced. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 154.89 points or 0.31% to 49,591.32. The Nifty 50 index lost 38.95 points or 0.26% to 14,834.85.

Bajaj Finance (down 3.12%), ICICI Bank (down 1.79%), Reliance Industries (down 1.11%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.83%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.08% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.69%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,656 shares rose and 1,249 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

Investors locked profits after a three-day streak. The Sensex rose 1.19% and the Nifty climbed 1.61% in the past three sessions. Rising Covid-19 cases in India also worried investors.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 13,39,71,287 with 29,02,493 deaths. India reported 9,79,608 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,67,642 deaths while 1,19,13,292 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Ten states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases, accounting for 84.21% of the 1,26,789 new infections, the health ministry said on Thursday. The national weekly COVID-19 positivity rate has increased by 6.21% from 2.19% to 8.40% in the first seven days of March and April, the ministry said.

Numbers To Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 74.73 compared with its previous closing of 74.5875.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.024% as compared to its previous close of 6.031%.

MCX Gold futures for 4 June 2021 settlement shed 0.45% to Rs 46,629.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.24% to 92.28.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2021 settlement added 1 cent to $63.21 a barrel. The contract gained 0.06% or 4 cents to settle at $63.20 in the previous trading session.

Global Markets:

Most European shares advanced while most Asian stocks declined on Friday. In the US, the S&P 500 rose to another record high on Thursday amid a strong rally in major technology stocks.

Federal Reverse chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday that the economic rebound from the pandemic still has room to go as the recovery thus far hasn't been well-rounded. Powell also repeated that inflation is not expected to be serious even though near-term price pressures are likely.

Data showed an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits. A total of 744,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ended April 3, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 3.04% to 12,995.35. The index has risen 5.89% so far in April.

Cadila Healthcare (up 10%), Cipla (up 5.34%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 4.47%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 3.54%), Lupin (up 2.93%), Biocon (up 2%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.62%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 1.2%) and Divi's Laboratories (up 0.96%) advanced.

Alkem Laboratories jumped 4.66%. The company's board has approved approved the commencement of commercial production/operations at the Chakan manufacturing facility of Enzene Biosciences, subsidiary of the company, located at Pune, Maharashtra, from 9 April 2021.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IRCTC rose 0.28%. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) acquired 1.12% in the company in Q4 March 2021. Meanwhile, Indian Railways board chairman Suneet Sharma reportedly said that there are no plans to stop or curtail train services in the country. There is no shortage of trains for those who want to travel, he reportedly said.

Zensar Technologies rose 1.91%. The IT company has entered into a global strategic partnership with US-based Claimatic. The partnership combines industry-leading, decisioning software of Claimatic with Zensar's strategic consulting, enterprise delivery, and implementation services. Zensar said that the new, innovative partnership will leverage the respective strengths of Claimatic and Zensar to create compelling value for both companies and their mutual clients.

Thyrocare Technologies added 3.10%. The company said that Arindam Haldar, who had joined the company as a chief executive officer (CEO) in September 2020, expressed his intention of resigning from his current post for personal reasons.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 1.06%. The renewables arm of Larsen & Toubro's power transmission & distribution business has secured a turnkey EPC contract, from the consortium of ACWA Power and the Water and Electricity Holding Company (a subsidiary of the Public Investments Fund of Saudi Arabia), for Sudair Solar PV Project of 1.5 GW capacity. According to L&T's classification, the value of the said orders lies between Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 7,000 crore.

Primary Market:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Macrotech Developers received bids for 4.94 crore shares as against 3.64 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Friday (9 April 2021). The issue was subscribed 1.36 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 7 April 2021, and it will close on Friday, 9 April 2021. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 483-486 per share.

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