The S&P BSE Sensex extended losses for the fifth consecutive session on Friday, falling 181 points, as disappointing earnings by Larsen &Toubro (L&T) and FMCG major ITC dampened sentiments.
The Sensex closed at 26,656 points, down 0.68%, while the 50-share Nifty fell 46 points, or 0.57%, to end at 8,065.
L&T, India's biggest engineering and construction firm, reported a net profit of Rs 996 crore for the quarter ending 30 September, but the company trimmed its order inflow guidance to 5 to 7% from 15% earlier.
L&T shares plunged over 4% to end at Rs 1411 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) following the earnings announcement.
"The company has reduced its guidance on order inflow and revenue which would lead to earnings cut in FY16 and FY17. However, post the correction, the stock appears attractive. We maintain our Buy rating on the stock as it is best placed to take advantage of a pickup in domestic infrastructure segment," said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.
ITC ended 4.3% lower after the company reported a flat growth in profit at Rs 2,431 crore for the September quarter, missing the street's expectations.
However, NTPC and ICICI Bank shares ended sharply higher following upbeat earnings for the July-September quarter.
NTPC shares gained 3.8% to close at Rs 132.70 after the company said its net profit increased by about 40% to Rs 2,898.28 crore in the quarter.
Stock prices of private sector lender ICICI Bank rose a little over 2% to close at Rs 277 after the company's earnings came in line with the market expectations.
"Asset quality was in-line with our expectations since the management has guided for more additions to stressed assets during the year. However, we would wait for more clarity on the stress assets additions during the year. We recommend BUY rating on the stock," said Vaibhav Agrawal, VP Research- Banking, Angel Broking.
Nestle India shares fell 1.6% to end at Rs 6,179 after the Maggi noodle maker reported a 60% decline in its net profit to Rs.124.2 crore for the second quarter, as a nationwide ban on its instant noodles impacted its sales during the quarter.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Capital Goods, FMCG and Realty were the top losers, while Bankex, Power, and Consumer Durables were the biggest gainers.
DLF (down 3.2%), BHEL (down 2.2%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.8%) were among the top losers in the Sensex, while Reliance Infra (up 4.8%), Reliance Capital (up 3%), and Reliance Power (up 3%) were the among the major gainers.
On the commidity front, gold prices fell sharply after the US Federal Reserve hinted at interest rate hike in December. The yellow metal prices were down Rs 245 to end at Rs 26,830 per 10 grams. Silver prices also plunged by Rs 735 to Rs 36,630 per kg.
