Nifty, Sensex under pressure; Lupin most active

The market started off last day of the week on a flat note with the Sensex falling 2.35 points to 27199.14 and the Nifty declining 2.40 points to 8335.50.

Shares such as Lupin and Tata Motors were among top gainers in early trade as they rose two percent each followed by Sun Pharma, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp and Aurobindo Pharma.

Among the losers category were Tata Steel, ITC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Idea Cellular and Bharti Infratel.

Asian markets were trading lower with the Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei falling 0.5-1 percent as oil declined on Thursday and ahead of US payroll data due today.

Brent and US crude oil futures rebounded from two month lows today, up over a percent. US stocks closed mixed on Thursday as sharp declines in oil prices weighed. Investors are also looking ahead to the highly-anticipated jobs report due Friday morning.

The United States Food and Drug Association (US FDA) has given a partial clean chit to Lupin's Goa plant.

The pharma giant has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the regulator stating that July 2015 inspection at the facility is now closed.

Of the total 18 observations, nine from July 2015 and another nine from March 2016 inspection, the former ones relating to equipment and warehousing have been closed. Nine observations are still outstanding for the company.

However, closing of nine observations is certainly positive for Lupin.

Brokerage house Macquaries continues to hold outperform rating over a long-term period of one to three years on the stock. The target price for the stock is Rs. 1800.