After hitting record highs initially during the week, equity benchmarks saw profit-taking on Friday weighed down by oil & gas, private banks and FMCG stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 188.47 points to close at 22688.07 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell below the 6800-mark, down 58.05 points to 6782.75.

The bull-run is not over yet, though it was a weak start for May series due to profit booking that may continue for some more time, say experts. They remain bullish on the market at least till the outcome of Lok Sabha elections on May 16. SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com feels this is a technical correction. “I won’t be holding that view that the May series is seen weak at least till elections outcome,??? he adds. Top private sector lender ICICI Bank fell more than 2 percent after lower than expected numbers in Q4. Net profit rose 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 2652 crore on higher non-interest income, retail advances and operating profit but impacted by higher provisions.

HDFC Bank lost over a percent as sources told CNBC-TV18 that the Reserve Bank of India is not in support of allowing the bank to raise further foreign capital. However, its rival Axis Bank gained over a percent as its March quarter numbers, which was announced after market hours, came in higher than street expectations with the net profit rising 19 percent to Rs 1,842 crore. Top lender State Bank of India gained 0.9 percent.

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki reported net profit at Rs 800 crore in the quarter ended March 2014 (lower than forecast), up 17.5 percent compared to previous quarter. “Lower volumes, higher sales promotion expenses and a stock compensation to dealers owing to reduction in excise duty (exceptional expense) impacted the bottomline during the quarter,” the company reasons. Oil & gas producer Cairn India tanked 5 percent as brokerages downgraded the stock after lower-than-expected FY15 oil production guidance. HSBC downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight with a revised target price of Rs 378 from Rs 409 per sharemarket, due to lack of strong triggers.