Despite a bout of profit taking during the concluding hour of trading, Indian shares once again ended higher Friday with a continued buying support from foreign institutional investors.

Immediately after the opening bell, a key market indicator - the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange - had scaled the psychologically important 8,700-point mark to reach the day's high at 8,739.57 points.

But by the end of the trading session, the Sensex was down at 8,686.65 points after range-bound transactions in a band of 77 points. Yet, the index managed a gain of 37.13 point or 0.43 percent over the previous close at 8,649.52 points.

"Essentially, investors have rushed to book profits ahead of the weekend break. The mood otherwise continues to be positive, with purchases by foreign funds further fuelling the gains," said an analyst with leading brokerage here.

"While automobile, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and cement stocks performed better than the market, banking, tech and energy stocks took a beating," the analyst added.

Data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India showed the foreign funds have pumped in $377.90 million in the Indian equities market in the current month, compared with being net sellers worth $840.90 million in October.

Among the 30 shares that comprise the Sensex, 19 scrips registered gains, while 11 others logged losses.

Within this representative group, Gujarat Ambuja Cement led the gainers, up 5.41 percent at Rs.78.95, followed by Associated Cement Companies, up 4.03 percent at Rs.503.40 and Bajaj Auto, up 3.55 percent at Rs.2,000.20.

The losers were led by Dr. Reddy's, down 1.76 percent at Rs.922.80, followed by Tata Power, down 1.70 percent at Rs.439.25, ICICI Bank, down 1.48 percent at Rs.537.60, and National Thermal Power Corp, down 1.44 percent at Rs.102.50.