Save for a very brief while at the start, the market spent the session in negative territory on Friday, with none too positive cues from Asian bourses and a disappointing report on industrial production hurting sentiment and prompting investors to indulge in some sustained selling right through the day. Political concerns amid speculation that the DMK might withdraw its ministers from the Union Cabinet too weighed on sentiment to an extent.

The Sensex, which declined to 18,182.90 around mid afternoon, recovered some lost ground in the final hour, but still ended the day on a negative note at 18,268.54 with a loss of 116.36 points or 0.63%. The Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange closed at 5485.80, netting a loss of 35.25 points or 0.64%.