Sensex Slips 143 Points; Nifty Settles Below 17,550; Hero MotoCorp, SBI Among Top Drags

New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks on Friday extended fall to the second straight session amid a highly volatile trade. The benchmark BSE Sensex slipped 143 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 58,645, while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 44 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 17,516. However, both the indexes logged their first weekly gain in three weeks in a budget-driven rally.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished in the negative zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.76 per cent and small-cap shares moved 0.92 per cent lower.

"With the budget now behind us, the market will focus on inflation and interest rates and is likely to remain rangebound," Siddhartha Khemka, Head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities, told news agency Reuters.

On the stock-specific front, Hero MotoCorp was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 2.25 per cent to Rs 2,719.

In contrast, Hindalco, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints and Divi's Lab were among the gainers on the NSE index.

12 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- settled in red. Sub-indices Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto underperformed the index by falling 1.92 per cent and 1.05 per cent, respectively.

On BSE, the overall market breadth stood weak as 1,595 shares advanced while 1,743 declined.

Major laggards in BSE pack included SBI, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid and HDFC with their shares sliding as much as 1.83 per cent.