Sensex snaps four-week winning streak

The Sensex fell on Friday to mark its first weekly fall in five as Hindustan Unilever slumped after its June-quarter sales missed forecast, while banks such as HDFC Bank fell on caution ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy review next week.

The BSE bankex slumped 4.7 per cent in the week after RBI unveiled additional measures to drain cash in order to defend the rupee, keeping bond yields elevated and sparking concerns about borrowing costs.

The Sensex fell 0.29 per cent, or 56.57 points, to end at 19,748.19, retreating for a third consecutive session after hitting its highest close since January 2011 on Tuesday. The Nifty fell 0.36 per cent, or 21.30 points, to end at 5,886.20, falling 2.4 per cent for the week.

Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, fell 3.5 per cent, as its June-quarter sales volumes disappointed investors.

Banks fell on caution ahead of the policy review, with HDFC Bank ending down 1.5 per cent, while State Bank of India lost 1.8 per cent.

Maruti Suzuki failed to hold on to earlier gains and fell 2.7 per cent after analysts raised concerns about the carmaker's cautious outlook on car sales.

Reliance Infrastructure fell 1.6 per cent, while Ranbaxy Laboratories ended 1.9 per cent down as brokers expected both stocks to be removed from the Nifty at a review next month.

Property developer DLF fell 1.5 per cent after Citigroup downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'neutral', citing high leverage and mounting interest costs.

However, ITC rose 2.6 per cent after a 4.5 per cent fall on Thursday as the drop following its first-quarter earnings was seen as overdone.

Shares in Jet Airways surged 17.4 per cent on Friday after traders said the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was likely to approve a planned stake sale to Etihad Airways.

Officials of Jet Airways and Etihad Airways were not immediately reachable for comment on the market speculation. A spokesman for the finance ministry, which oversees FIPB, declined to comment.

Biocon gained 7.3 per cent after saying late on Thursday its June-quarter net profit rose 19 per cent, beating consensus estimates.