Snapping a two-day rally, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday shed nearly 110 points on emergence of profit taking in power, metal and capital goods shares, amid weak global trends.
The Sensex, which had gained 215 points in last two trading sessions, opened weak and touched a low of 18,611.76 as selling pressure engulfed Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC, HDFC Bank and L&T.
FII outflows and dollar demand pushed the rupee 1 per cent to 53.90 against the U.S. currency, further dampening sentiment.
FMCG major ITC, however, after posting better-than-expected results rose 2 per cent and helped the Sensex trim some losses and close at 18,682.31 — down 109.62 points, or 0.58 per cent over Thursday.
Among Sensex 30 shares, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, Gail and Bhel lead the 24 losers. TCS shares weakened 1.14 per cent ahead of its September quarter results.
On similar lines, the broad-based 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 34.45 points, or 0.60 per cent, to close at 5,684.25.
Globally, major Asian markets fell around 0.5-1 per cent while European indices were trading weak in afternoon deals.