The Sensex was trading lower by 77 points, while the Nifty lost 24 points in trade. The Stock of Ranbaxy tanked as much as 18 per cent, after the company's Toansa plant was banned by the US FDA. Larsen and Toubro which rallied sharply on Thursday lost ground and was trading lower.

The Bank Nifty was trading weak today ahead of next week's credit policy. Among the banking stocks that declined in trade were Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, Union Bank and Punjab National Bank. Karnataka Bank was trading marginally lower ahead of its results to be declared later today.

Private oil exploration major, Cairn India rallied after foreign firm Jefferies raised the target price for the company.

Mid cap stocks which lost heavy ground on Thursday continued to trade lower today. Among the mid cap stocks that lost ground were Biocon, whose results did not impress the markets. Other losers were Voltas and Crompton Greaves.

Metal stocks continued to trade weak with Tata Steel and Sterlite among the early losers. Software stocks bucked the trend and were rising in a falling market. Among the gainers from the space were HCL Tech, TCS and Wipro.

Meanwhile, most of the Asian markets were trading with sharp losses led by the Jakarta Composite, which saw a cut of almost 1 per cent.

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