The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a negative start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,583 level, a discount of nearly 63 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex failed to maintain their early momentum on Friday, slipping into the red for the third consecutive session as 12 out of 13 sectoral indices saw losses, primarily due to declines in public sector banks and metals.

Nifty 50 outlook remains weak and the markets will consolidate in a range with stock specific action on the back of Q3 result announcements, analysts said.

The IT index was in the green, mostly because of Tata Consultancy Services which published its Q3 earnings, showing a net profit rise of 11.59% to ₹12,380 crore

The Nifty 50 ended the session with a drop of 0.54%, settling at 23,442 points, while the Sensex wrapped up the session with a drop of 0.40%, at the 77,312 level. It was the mid- and small-cap stocks that continued to be hammered by investors sharply in Friday's session.

The Indian equity market continued its losses from the previous session on Thursday, with the Nifty closing below 23,550 due to broad-based selling, except in the FMCG sector. Despite mixed global cues,