Indian indexes ended slightly higher on Friday, led by gains in stocks such as Lupin Ltd, but broader gains were capped as sentiment was subdued following US President Donald Trump's proposal to impose more tariffs on China. The broader NSE index closed up 0.06 percent at 10,331.60 while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.09 percent higher at 33,626.97.
Both indexes posted a weekly gain of 2 percent each. Lupin, the top gainer on the NSE index, rose after the drugmaker said its facility received an establishment investigation report from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Trump said on Thursday that he had directed US trade officials to identify tariffs on $100 billion worth additional Chinese imports, escalating the dispute between the world's two largest economies. Asia shares ex-Japan slipped 0.13 percent, while US stock futures
fell more than 1 percent. Global markets have been volatile this week amid the back-and-forth of the US-China trade conflict.
"The volatility in markets in the last 10 days has unnerved a lot of people. We haven't seen the end of the trade war between Trump and China, which is creating confusion in investors' minds," said Dilip Bhat, joint managing director at Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd. "On the positive side, a couple of things are getting clearer after yesterday's policy - growth will be decent and the government's borrowing program indicates they won't go overboard in borrowing," Bhat said.
India's central bank held policy rates steady on Thursday, retaining its "neutral" stance, but cut its inflation view amid easing price pressures, spurring a rally in markets.
Infosys and Larsen and Toubro Ltd slid more than 1 percent each, contributing most to the losses on both indexes. The Nifty PSU bank index fell as much as 1.6 percent, after closing up 4.9 percent in the previous session following the Reserve Bank of India's policy statement. State Bank of India fell as much as 1.7 percent.
Oil refiners, however, rose on lower global crude oil prices, with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd gaining over 2 percent each. Real estate firm Sobha Ltd surged more than 10 percent after reporting strong sales for the year ended 2018.
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