Benchmark indices closed marginally higher on Friday, ahead of Muhurat trading scheduled on the eve of Diwali and beginning of Samvat 2077. Despite weak global equities, Sensex ended 85 points higher at 43,443 and Nifty closed 29 points higher at 12,719.

Barring FMCG and media, all the sectors closed bullish today, with over 1% gains registered in media, pharma and realty.

IndusInd Bank, followed by SBI, L&T, Axis Bank, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top losers today. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Titan, Bajaj Finance and Sun Pharma were trading with gains.

In terms of key economic data, retail inflation rose to the highest in more than six years on account of elevated food prices. Further, India’s index of industrial output for September was at 0.2 percent versus -8 percent in August. The CPI inflation also continued to remain stubbornly higher than 6% which is the upper end of the RBI’s tolerance range for inflation.

Globally, markets turned negative as rapidly rising COVID-19 cases overshadowed the optimism on a COVID vaccine. Asian markets were trading lower on the last trading day of the week, tracking weakness from US markets as Covid-19 cases rose and talks about lockdowns and restrictions resurfaced.

Selling pressure was seen across sectors as investors weighed the timeline for the mass rollout of an effective vaccine. Excitement over news of potentially effective vaccine for COVID-19 has been tempered by concerns over the logistical challenges of ensuring access to billions of people.

European markets opened lower today giving up gains in the recent past as positivity around coronavirus vaccine faded amid rising COVID-19 cases in Europe.

Investor focus on Friday was on the coronavirus situation in the US, as daily new cases of the virus continue to rise setting fresh records.

On markets closing –Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said,”The Nifty traded in a narrow range of about 150 points. It failed to get past 12770-12780 which is the pivotal point for the uptrend to resume. The index has a strong support within 12100-12300. If we cross 12780, we should scale up to 13000 levels.”

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking said,”Markets consolidated in a range and ended almost unchanged, in line with our view. We have a special Diwali muhurat trading session tomorrow evening i.e. on November 14 and expect the bullish tone to continue. Considering the hurdle at 12,800 in Nifty, we suggest focusing on broader markets and advise preferring only quality midcap and smallcap counters for short term trades. At the same time, any dip in the index majors, which are trading in line with the benchmark, should be considered as a buying opportunity.”

On the currency front, rupee settled on a flat note at 74.62 per American currency, registering a rise of 2 paise over its previous close of 74.64 per dollar.