BSE Sensex posts 4th straight weekly loss; retailers jump

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The main 30-share BSE index fell 1.03 percent to close at 15,695.43, its lowest level since Nov. 3, 2009, with 22 of its components closing in the red. The benchmark index fell 4.1 percent on the week.

"The financial markets in Europe and U.S. are not stabilising on building up of debt in the euro zone. This will continue to hurt investment sentiment next week as well," said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management at Globe Capital.

Heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in recent sessions, which had dragged the main index to a two-year low on Wednesday, and weak global markets sapped investor confidence, traders said.

FIIs have pulled out $632 million over four sessions to Wednesday, data from the market regulator showed.

"Retail investors are reluctant to enter market and buying is not taking place," Mital said, adding, the country's growing fiscal deficit remains a key concern for investors.

India on Friday sought parliament's approval for additional subsidy of 437.8 billion rupees on oil and fertilisers in the current financial year.

India has projected major subsidies of about 1.34 trillion rupees in the current financial year.

Retail sector shares, however, bucked the trend, following India's approval late Thursday of 51 percent foreign direct investment in supermarkets and allow 100 percent foreign investment in single-brand retail.

The move paves the way for the entry of firms such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour into one of the world's largest untapped markets.

Shares in Pantaloon Retail (India) rallied 16.3 percent, while Shoppers Stop and Trent , part of the salt-to-steel Tata Group conglomerate, rose 6.23 percent and 8.62 percent each respectively.

Realty major DLF jumped 3 percent on hopes the liberalisation of the retail sector would boost demand for property.

Shares of Phoenix Mills rose 6.7 percent, while Sobha Developers and Peninsula Land rose 3.9 percent and 5.6 percent each.

State-run engineering firm Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 3.17 percent after Nomura upgraded it to 'buy' from 'neutral', citing incremental positive news flow starting to emerge and attractive valuations.

Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen and Toubro jumped 3.4 percent, rising for a second day, as investors chased bargains. The stock had fallen to a more than two-and-a-half-year low on Wednesday.

The 50-share NSE index fell 0.98 percent to 4,710.05 points. In the broader market, there were 1.3 gainers for every loser on a moderate volume of 628.23 million shares.

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The MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan was down 1.6 percent while the index of top European shares FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.28 percent.

STOCKS THAT MOVED

& Ranbaxy Laboratories climbed as much as 2.72 percent as the launch date for its generic version of Pfizer's $10-billion-a-year cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor nears. Lipitor's patent expires on Nov. 30.

& Fertiliser makers Chambal Fertilisers and Tata Chemicals rose more than 4 percent each after the federal government sought parliamentary approval to allocate additional subsidy of 137.8 billion rupees for fertiliser sales in the current financial year.

& Future Ventures India Ltd rose 5.1 percent after the firm said it had made additional investments in Clarks Future Footwear Ltd and Holii Accessories Pvt Ltd.

& Jet Airways rallied 12.6 percent while Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet gained more than 7 percent each after the Mint reported that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called the heads of carriers for a meeting on Saturday to discuss ways to help the sector.

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

& Suzlon Energy on 31 million shares

& Kingfisher Airlines 20 million shares

& Tata Motors on 10.92 million shares