Mumbai, Jan 18 (IANS) Mixed global cues, weakness in the Indian currency and heavy selling in the healthcare and finance stocks dragged the key equity indices on Friday, with Sensex and Nifty ending flat with a positive bias.
BSE Healthcare index tanked 2 per cent, while telecom scrips also witnessed heavy selling pressure, losing over 3 per cent.
The BSE Sensex closed higher 12.53 points, or 0.03 per cent, after touching a high of 36,469.98 and a low of 36,218.33 points.
The benchmark index opened higher on Friday, at 36,417.58 points from its previous close of 36,374.08.
The broader Nifty50 also ended in the green, up by a meagre 4.80 points, or 0.04 per cent.
Stocks-wise, Sun Pharma ended up as the top loser on Sensex. The scrip price declined to Rs 390.50 apiece, losing Rs 36.65, or 8.58 per cent, from its previous close of Rs 427.15.
The pharmaceutical major had tanked over 12 per cent at one point after reports of a complaint by a whistleblower against the company.
Other major losers on Sensex were Bharti Airtel, which slipped over 6 per cent, followed by Larsen and Tubro, Axis Bank and Yes Bank, all of which closed lower in the range of 1 to 2 per cent.
In contrast, the top gainer among the 30 scrips on Sensex were Reliance Industries, which jumped over 4 per cent following its healthy quarterly results on Thursday.
In was followed by Kotak Mahindra, HCL Tech, ONGC and Asian Paints, all of which gained up to 1.50 per cent.
–IANS
ravi/nir