India's equity indices ended lower on Friday at the end of a lacklustre trading week, as continued geopolitical uncertainty and an upswing in crude oil prices weighed on Dalal Street.

NSE's Nifty fell 29.85 points, or 0.1%, to close at 24,366. BSE's Sensex declined 70.71 points, or 0.1%, to end at 78,009.25. The indices declined 0.8% and 0.6% for the week, respectively, after two straight weeks of losses.

Brent crude oil October futures were trading above $88 a barrel on Friday evening and remained elevated through the week, compared with their close of $83.5 a barrel last Friday.

Khemka said that with the results season underway, the action has been highly stock- and sector-specific, and that is likely to continue as he expects the major indices to remain range-bound.

The India Volatility Index, or VIX-a gauge of fear in the markets-fell 0.9% to 11.3 on Friday and has dropped 11.5% in the past five sessions, indicating some relief among traders.

Both the Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Small-cap 250 fell 0.5% on Friday. Of the total 4,502 stocks traded on Friday, 1,896 advanced and 2,393 declined at the close. The midcap index gained 0.2% for the week, while the Smallcap 250 fell 0.4%.

Technically, Nifty is hovering around the confluence zone of its 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), said Vipin Kumar, AVP - Derivatives and Technical Research at Globe Capital Market.

Kumar said Nifty's immediate support lies around the 24,130-24,000 spot levels, while resistance is at 24,620-24,700.

"A decisive breakout above 24,700 is essential to trigger a sustainable rally toward 24,850 and higher levels, while a breach below 24,000 (which appears less probable) could drag the index down to 23,800-23,600," he said. "Given the current chart structure and a lack of fresh triggers, we expect Nifty to remain range-bound within the 24,000-24,700 zone short term."

Khemka said overall earnings breadth has improved, with outperformance seen in the broader market. "While Nifty50 earnings growth has remained steady, the mid- and small-caps have delivered stronger growth and could remain better placed going ahead," he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan gained 0.6% and South Korea rose 2.4%, while China ended flat. Hong Kong fell 1.1%, while Taiwan dropped 0.5%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat at the time of going to print.

Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹508 crore. Domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹356 crore.