Equities did not have the best of their starts to a new series, with the Nifty ending the first day of September series below 11,700-mark. However, bulls did manage to battle it out well with the bears as the market was off its low points.

A weak rupee, higher crude oil prices along with selloff in midcaps were one of the major reasons behind the downtrend on the market. The Indian currency fell to an all-time, historic low of 71 to the US dollar, before settling around 70.88 to the dollar at the time of equity markets coming to a close.

Banks were the major laggards on Friday, led by losses in names such as Yes Bank. Another index heavyweight, Reliance Industries, fell around 3 percent, managed to weigh on equity benchmarks. The Bank Nifty was largely lower through the day, along with weakness among metals, auto and energy names. Traditional defensives, IT and pharmaceuticals were the major gainers through the session. However, last hour buying also helped PSU banks end in the green.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed down 45.03 points or 0.12% at 38645.07, while the Nifty was lower by 2.10 points or 0.02% at 11674.70\. The market breadth is positive 1,423 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,234 shares, while 193 shares were unchanged.

Tata Motors, Power Grid, Dr Reddy’s and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers, while Yes Bank and Reliance Industries lost the most.