Indian shares remain lower

Indian shares ended lower for a fourth straight session on Friday, dragged by financials such as HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corp, while sentiment was subdued amid caution over developments in US-China trade negotiations. The benchmark BSE index closed down 0.86 percent at 34,848.3, slipping 1.93 percent for the week.
The broader NSE index ended 0.81 percent lower at 10,596.4, shedding 1.94 percent over the week. Both the indexes marked their biggest weekly loss in 10 weeks.
HDFC Bank closed 0.77 percent lower, while Housing Development Finance Corp ended down 1.18 percent. Among the gainers, Nifty FMCG index closed 1.25 percent higher with Hindustan Unilever Ltd momentarily crossing rival ITC Ltd to become the fourth-largest company on the National Stock Exchange.
Investor sentiment was also subdued amid caution over developments in US-China trade negotiations and as crude prices broke above $80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014 on Thursday. "It will be an earnings-driven market going forward," said Teena Virmani, vice president, Kotak Securities.
"Given the rise in oil prices and higher yields, valuation multiples are not going to grow sharply from now on, so markets will rely on earnings revival." The NSE Bank Index fell as much as 0.8 percent, extending its drop into a third session. ICICI Bank declined 2.8 percent, while HDFC slipped 1 percent.
The Nifty PSU Bank Index shed 1.3 percent, in what could be its fourth consecutive session of fall, on continued concerns about disappointing quarterly results due to a jump in bad-loan provisions. The index has declined 5.8 percent so far this week, its biggest since the week ended March 23.
Central Bank of India fell as much as 6.4 percent to its lowest in over 2 years after the lender reported its ninth straight quarterly loss on Thursday. Canara Bank Ltd declined 0.9 percent, while Punjab National Bank dropped 1.2 percent.
Among other losers, Voltas Ltd declined 7.7 percent after the AC manufacturer posted a 3.1 percent fall in March-quarter profit. Among the gainers, Reliance Communications Ltd jumped for a second straight session, rising as much as 30 percent, after reports that the debt-ridden company was in advanced talks with Ericsson for an out-of-court settlement of its dues.
JK Tyre & Industries Ltd rose about 8 percent after it posted a 63 percent surge in fourth-quarter profit. Bajaj Finance Ltd hit a record high after posting a 60 percent surge in March-quarter profit.