The benchmark Sensex fell for the sixth time in seven days, dropping 16 points in choppy and range-bound trade today, amid caution ahead of the announcement of third-quarter results from Infosys.
Sentiment was also affected by uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve's schedule for reducing its monthly bond purchases and policy decisions from both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) today.
While Infosys advanced ahead of its earnings announcement tomorrow, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank and Hindalco Industries were the biggest losers on the index.
Selling in realty and capital goods weighed on the market while buying in metal, refinery, IT and pharma stocks cushioned the fall.
The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex resumed slightly higher and then fell on lower Asian cues. It moved in a range of 125 points before recovering some ground due to a better European opening. The index closed at 20,713.37, a fall of 16.01 points or 0.08 per cent.
The Sensex rose 36 points yesterday, its first gain this year, after five straight days of losses.
The broader CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange declined 6.25 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 6,168.35.
"The third-quarter earnings season begins tomorrow with all eyes on Infosys's Q3 results. Any drastic difference in Infosys earnings from analyst expectations could cause heavy volatility in the markets, since it could be a leading indicator for other IT firms' earnings," said Raghu Kumar, Cofounder of RKSV.
Retail investors booked profits in recently favoured second-line stocks as they decided to play safe before the Infosys numbers.
The minutes of the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting did not show that a schedule had been set for reducing its monthly bond purchases.
The Fed had decided to taper its stimulus programme and cut its USD 85 billion monthly bond buying by US 10 billion, starting in January.
