Domestic equity benchmarks ended in negative territory for the third session on the trot on Friday amid weak global cues due to rising COVID-19 cases in Europe and uncertainty ahead of US elections. The BSE Sensex ended 135.78 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 39,614.07 while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 28.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 11,642.40.

Bharti Airtel was the top loser among the Sensex constituents, shedding 3.82 per cent, followed by Maruti, HUL, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, gainers on the BSE were represented by Tata Steel, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, TCS, Tech Mahindra and ONGC.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 1.37 per cent ahead of its results.

During the week, Sensex tumbled 1,071.43 points or 2.63 per cent, while Nifty sank 287.95 points or 2.41 per cent.

“Concerns over prospects of global economic recovery due to resurgence of COVID-19 in various nations continued to weigh on investors’ sentiments as domestic equities declined for third consecutive day. Financials and Auto were the major drags today, white other key sectoral indices staged a recovery towards the end of the session.

“Volatility in markets is expected to persist in coming week as well led by uncertainty over global economy and US presidential election. However, better corporate earnings so far and improvements in high frequency key economic indicators are expected to offer support to domestic equities,” said Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.

BSE telecom, auto, bankex, FMCG, finance and teck indices fell as much as 2.37 per cent, while realty, metal, energy, oil and gas and power closed in the green.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap index advanced 0.62 per cent, while the smallcap gauge slipped 0.03 per cent.

In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended the day with significant losses.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a negative note as fresh lockdowns in France, Germany and other countries dented risk sentiment.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.58 per cent higher at USD 38.48 per barrel.

The domestic forex market was closed on account of ‘Id-E-Milad’.