Indian Benchmark indices trimmed most of their intra-day losses and ended on flat note as gains in financial shares helped offset most of the losses in IT majors and select index heavyweights. Sentiments remained cautious ahead of a US payrolls report for April that could influence bets on future US rate hikes. Investors were also concerned over the slower pace of expansion last month in China's services sector, compared with March, which added to worries over China's disappointing manufacturing data and downgrades on growth and inflation forecast by the European Commission. On domestic front, sentiments remained down-beat on report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 388.51 crore on May 05, 2016. Besides, depreciation in rupee value against the dollar also weighed on the sentiment. Indian rupee depreciated by four paise to trade at 66.59 against the US dollar at the time of equity markets closing due to fresh buying of the American currency by banks and importers. However, market participants got some comfort with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the government is following the approach of 'Reform to Transform' through far-reaching structural reforms and has initiated several initiatives to boost investment climate and improve Ease of doing Business. On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, the European stocks fell modestly in early trade. Back home, the local benchmark got off to a weak start as investors turn jittery and booked profits amid weak cues from Asian markets ahead of the US employment data. The selling pressure accentuated in the mid morning trades as investors took to across the board risk aversion. Thereafter started the road to recovery for the bourses which kept slowly but steadily moving towards the neutral line. The frontline indices even managed to break into the positive terrain in final hour of trades but only for a moment as some mild profit booking followed by some modest covering ensured that the key gauges post only modest losses. Finally, the BSE Sensex declined by 33.71 points or 0.13% to 25228.50, while the CNX Nifty dropped 2.05 points or 0.03% to 7,733.45. 

The US market closed higher on Friday, rebounding after spending much of the session in the red, as investors grappled with the jobs report and its ramifications for Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The main indexes booked their second consecutive weekly losses, as poor economic reports have raised concerns about domestic growth. The oil prices had a choppy time amid lingering speculation about the potential impact on supply of the devastating wildfire in Canada's oil sands region. On the economy front, companies scaled back hiring in April, adding just 160,000 new jobs, in a sign the US economy is still suffering from an early-year chill. The disappointing employment report is likely to keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates anytime soon. Hiring has tapered off in 2016 in tandem with a broader economic slowdown, while falling corporate profits has sparked worries about whether companies will take down their help wanted signs. The increase in hiring was the smallest since September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 79.92 points or 0.45 percent to 17,740.63, Nasdaq gained by 19.07 points or 0.40 percent to 4,736.16 while S&P 500 added 6.51 points or 0.32 percent to 2,057.14.

Crude oil futures ended modestly higher on Friday, though they pared some of their early gains which was generated on the back of softness in dollar in response to weaker than expected US jobs data and the report that the domestic rig count slid to fresh all-time record low. Oil services firm Baker Hughes said in its weekly rig count report that oil rigs in the US fell by four to 328 for the week ending on April 29. However, the crude pared its gains as the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls last month rose by its slowest pace in seven months. The index is down more than 6% since early-December. Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery inched up by $0.27 or 0.61 percent to $44.59 a barrel after trading in a range of $43.55 and $45.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for June delivery closed at $45.30, up $ 0.30 or 0.67percent on the ICE.

Indian rupee continued its consolidation mood on Friday, earlier there was some weakness on sustained foreign fund outflows amid appreciation of the dollar. While, there were fresh demand for the American currency from importers and banks, the weakness in the local equity markets too weighed on the sentiments. However, towards the end there was some recovery tailing the improvement in equity that helped the rupee. On the global front, the dollar weakened against the basket of major currencies ahead of the highly-anticipated US employment report due later in the day. The yen too remained under pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that his government is prepared to take action against excessive, speculative rises in the nations' currency. Finally, the rupee ended at 66.55, unchanged at its previous close on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Friday's data were net sellers in equity and in debt segments both. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 3735.10 crore against gross selling of Rs 4063.09 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 865.80 crore with gross sales of Rs 1122.95 crore.            

The US markets ended in green on disappointing jobs data which led to speculation the Federal Reserve will further delay raising interest rates, but it also added to concerns about the strength of the economy. The Asian markets have made a mixed start on disappointing trade data from China, however the Japanese market has moved higher with the pullback in yen. The Indian markets ended flat with a negative bias in last session. Today, the start of the new week is likely to be in green but cautiousness may persist with mixed regional cues and as a private survey has said that Indian economy has been losing momentum since middle of financial year 2014-15. The report termed the state level GDP data as "dodgy" and said that Indian economy is undergoing a pronounced slowdown. There will be buzz in the telecom stocks, as the telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that reserve prices worked out for the upcoming mega spectrum auctions are at "reasonable levels" and will result in a "successful" sale for the government. The pricing were determined and finalized by the telecom commission in accordance with prescribed procedures and after due consultation with regulator Trai. The infra stocks too will see some action, on a report that project cost of as many as 238 infrastructure projects, monitored by the Statistics Ministry, have overshot by Rs 1.6 lakh crore from their original estimates due to delays on account land acquisition forest clearances and other reasons. Also, there will be lots of important companies reporting their numbers.

Support and Resistance: NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex

Nifty Top volumes

• Maruti Suzuki India, country's largest car maker, has reported 9.22% rise in its production to 125,176 units in April 2016 as compared to 114,607 units in April 2015.
• Bharat Heavy Electricals has added another coal-based power plant to the grid by successfully commissioning a 500 MW thermal unit in Jharkhand.
• Idea Cellular, one of the largest Indian telecom operators, has entered into partnership with Google Play to offer direct carrier billings for app and content purchases on Play Store.
• Induslnd Bank has inaugurated a new branch located at CR Avenue, Kolkata.
• NTPC has raised Rs 1,000 crore through private placement of secured non-convertible debentures at a coupon of 8.05% per annum with a 10 year door-to-door maturity on May 05, 2016.