Mumbai, May 18 (IANS): The key Indian equity indices traded in the red on Friday afternoon due to weak global cues including persistent rise in crude oil prices along with heavy selling in capital goods, banking and auto stocks.

At 12.22 p.m., the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded at 10,643.35 points, down 39.35 points or 0.37 per cent from the previous close of 10,682.70 points.

Similarly, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had opened at 35,143.59 points, traded at 34,992.32 points (12.23 p.m.) -- down 156.80 points or 0.45 per cent -- from its previous session's close of 35,149.12 points.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 35,163.11 and a low of 34,961.78 points. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,404 declines against 927 advances so far.

"Sensex and Nifty 50 declined for a fourth straight session on Friday, following mixed sentiment in global stock markets," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer, Tradebulls.

So far, the major gainers on the BSE were ITC, Baja Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ONGC, while Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Adani Ports and Wipro were the major losers.

On the NSE, the top gainers were Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Auto. The major losers were Sun Pharma, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank.