After a shaky start and a subsequent choppy ride in positive territory, the market plunged sharply post release of the industrial production data for December, and, despite recovering some lost ground later on in the session, ended the day on a weak note. Besides weak industrial production data, profit taking after recent strong gains and doubts about the Greek bailout package also contributed to the decline on Friday.

Realty, bank and healthcare stocks were among the prominent losers. Shares from oil, information technology and capital goods sectors came off their lows but still ended mostly in negative territory.

Select metal, PSU and FMCG stocks posted smart gains. Automobile and consumer durables stocks found modest support at lower levels. After a good spell in positive territory, midcap and smallcap stocks retreated to lower levels, but managed to stage a fairly decent recovery towards the end of the session.

The Sensex, which declined to 17,627, ended the day with a loss of 82.06 points or 0.46% at 17,748.69, while the Nifty closed at 5381.60, more than 40 points off the day's low of 5341.05, recording a loss of 30.75 points or 0.57%. Send to friends

Investor tips | Top gainers | Worst lose rs | FII activity | NIFTY Toppers

Check out our all-new automated news-analysis-driven Market Sentiments page

2:35 PM: Buy ICICI Bank with a target of Rs 985-990 and stop loss of Rs 909.40, says Sarvendra Srivastav, independent market analyst, on NDTV Profit. Send to friends

2:20 PM: Buy Ambuja Cements February Futures with a 4-5 day target of Rs 183 and stop loss of Rs 170, says Somil Mehta of Sharekhan on CNBC Awaaz. Send to friends

2:10 PM: Buy Dewan Housing with a 15-month target of Rs 400, says PN Vijay, portfolio manager, on CNBC TV18. Send to friends

2:00 PM: Buy Yes Bank at Rs 300-310, IndusInd Bank at Rs 285, DCB at Rs 40-42 and hold for 25-30% returns over 14-18 months, says Gaurang Shah of Geojit BNP Paribas on Zee Business. Send to friends

1:50 PM: Hold Hindalco with a target of Rs 165, says Anil Manghnani of Modern Shares and Stockbrokers on CNBC TV18. Send to friends

1:20 PM: Buy Infosys with a target of Rs 2930-2950 and stop loss of Rs 2746, says Sarvendra Srivastav, independent market analyst, on NDTV Profit. Send to friends

1:00 PM: Buy ABB at Rs 888 with a target of Rs 940 and stop loss of Rs 875, says Somil Mehta of Sharekhan on Zee Business. Send to friends

12:50 PM: Buy DLF on dips with a target of Rs 245 and stop loss of Rs 220, says Somil Mehta of Sharekhan on Zee Business. Send to friends

12:35 PM: Buy Asian Paints with a target of Rs 3270 and stop loss of Rs 3000, says Alpesh Furiya, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. Send to friends

12:20 PM: Buy Bank of Baroda with a target of Rs 830-835 and intra-day stop loss of Rs 795, says Dharmesh Shah of ICICI Direct on Zee Business. Send to friends

12:10 PM: Buy GAIL for the target price of Rs 422.00: Firstcall Send to friends

11:50 AM: Sell Arvind Mills with a stop loss of Rs 97: ICICIDirect Send to friends

11:40 AM: Weak industrial production data is likely to hurt sentiment and trigger some selling in the near term.

The significant decline is likely to prompt the central bank to start cutting rates sooner than later.

According to the data released by the government a little while ago, the Index of Industrial Productivity plunged to lower than expected levels of 1.8% in December versus 5.9% in December. The IIP grew at 3.6% for the April-December time period.

The manufacturing sector grew at 1.8% versus 6.6% in November, while the capital goods sector growth fell to 16.5% versus -4.6% in November. Send to friends

11:30 AM: Buy Indian Hotels Feb Futures in the rng of 73.30-73.40: ICICIDirect Send to friends

11:20 AM: Hold IDFC with a short-term target of Rs 145 and trailing stop loss of Rs 128, says Salil Sharma, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. Send to friends

11:10 AM: Buy M&M Feb Futures in the rng of 701-702: ICICIDirect Send to friends

10:50 AM: Besides large caps, several midcap stocks too have moved up sharply over the past few weeks.

Sustained inflow of funds from FIIs and expectations that the central bank will soon start reducing rates are among the factors contributing to the renewed interest in the midcap space.

Though some correction is imminent, investors holding stocks with fairly strong fundamentals can stay invested for good medium term returns. Send to friends

10:40 AM: Sell Lupin with a stop loss of Rs 476.5: ICICIDirect Send to friends

10:30 AM: Buy IDBI for the target prices of Rs 108.50/109.50/Higher with a stop loss of Rs 105.5: ICICIDirect Send to friends

10:20 AM: Buy BGR Energy with a target of Rs 270 and stop loss of Rs 250, says Arunesh Madan of Augment Investment on CNBC TV18 Send to friends

10:10 AM: Buy Sintex Industries (Rs 95). Book some profits at Rs 100 levels for short term.

Long term investors can hold the stock with a stop loss around Rs 70. Send to friends

10:00 AM: Buy Dish TV for the target prices of Rs 66.40/67.00/Higher with a stop loss of Rs 64.3: ICICIDirect Send to friends

9:40 AM: Buy Escorts Ltd. above Rs 85.50 with a 2-3 day target of Rs 90 and stop loss of Rs 84, says Nooresh Mirani of AMSEC-Analyse India on CNBC TV18. Send to friends

9:20 AM: Buy Asian Paints at Rs 3060 with an intra-day target of Rs 3100 and stop loss of Rs 3040, says Hemen Kapadia, technical analyst, on CNBC TV18. Send to friends

8:50 AM: The market is likely to open on a cautious note with a slightly negative bias amid mixed cues from Asia.

The industrial production data for January 2012, due for release today, will provide some direction.

Quarterly numbers will also play a significant role in dictating the trend.

Aurobindo Pharma, BPCL, GE Shipping, IDFC, MMTC, MTNL, Reliance Capital, Reliance Communications, NLC, DLF, Sun TV Network, Tata Chemicals, Tata Power and Ucal Fuel Systems are among the companies scheduled to announce their quarterly results today. Send to friends