Stocks end 2-week advance as ICICI drags lenders lower

The benchmark stock index capped its first weekly decline in three weeks as ICICI Bank reported its biggest drop in quarterly profit in at least 15 years as provisions for bad loans surged. ICICI and State Bank of India, the nation's biggest lenders, were the worst performers on the S&P BSE Sensex this week. Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile-phone operator, fell the most in three weeks. Vedanta, a producer of aluminum and copper, rose for the first time in three days after its earnings report.

The Sensex closed little changed after swinging between gains and losses at least 20 times. The gauge lost 0.9 per cent this week and Friday's decline pared the monthly gain to one per cent. Bad-loan concerns resurfaced after ICICI Bank's results. Eleven banks in India reported losses in the three months ended December amid surging bad loans after the nation's central bank began an audit, known as the asset-quality review, on October 1.