In lacklustre trade, the stock market on Tuesday suffered mild losses with a 97-point decline in its barometer Sensex, as blue-chips like Reliance Industries (RIL), TCS, SBI and Tata Motors turned weak.
The 30-share benchmark index settled at 15,873.95 points, down 96.8 points or 0.6%, after moving in a narrow range for most of the trading session.
RIL and lenders SBI and HDFC Bank were among the big losers on concerns about the outlook for earnings.
?Many investors have suffered losses and they are not in a position to take much risk. And, there is no clarity on the policy front,? said DD Sharma, senior vice-president at brokerage Anand Rathi.
The government has been caught in a policy gridlock with most reform measures being stalled and tight monetary policy to tame stubborn inflation has slowed economic growth.
Ravi Sharma, chief executive of Adani Power, said on Tuesday that the company had put on hold its 6,500-mw expansion plan because of no clarity on coal supplies. The stock fell 1.5%.
While India holds 10% of the world?s coal reserves, power companies often struggle to access local supplies due to environmental and land acquisition delays, forcing expensive imports.
The BSE index has fallen about 22% this year, making it one of the worst performing major index. Foreign funds have pulled out a net $470 million this year, compared with net inflows of more than $29 billion in 2010.
State Bank of India, the country?s largest lender, shed 1.3%, HDFC Bank dropped 0.9% and ICICI Bank lost 0.5%. There are concerns about asset quality of banks as borrowers face difficulty to repay loans following sharp increases in interest rates and dwindling economic growth.