Stocks to buy, Sept. 13 -- Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty pared most of their early losses to end slightly lower on Friday, supported by a decline in crude oil prices and late-session buying in IT stocks and private sector lender HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 120.83 points, or 0.16%, to close at 74,781.76. The index had declined as much as 742.43 points, or 0.99%, during the session to hit an intraday low of 74,160.16.

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended 79.70 points, or 0.34%, lower at 23,398.10. It slipped as much as 246.4 points, or 1.04%, during the day to touch 23,231.40.

Nifty 50 witnessed a sharp gap-down opening at 23,270.30, falling 207 points initially, before finding a strong base around the 23,250 zone. The index tou...