The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by 88 points as investors turned cautious ahead of a long weekend amid weak global trends.
The 30-share barometer settled at 16,613.22 points, a loss of 88.43 points over the previous close.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 27.60 points to 4,958.95 points.
Brokers said investors were reluctant to enlarge their positions ahead of a long weekend as the market is closed on Monday for ‘Dussehra’ festival.
Weak trends in global markets on fears that authorities around the world might start withdrawing some of the stimulus measures taken to revive crisis-hit economies weighed on the market, they added.
Trading sentiment also affected after Citigroup said it believed Indian banks profitability and stock performance would be under significant pressure in the near term as there was an upward pressure on interest rates.
Metal stocks suffered the most as base metal prices sank on concern that global economic recovery might take longer than expected.
The metal sector index fell by 2.20 per cent to 13,958.40 points. Segment major Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel and Hindalco dipped after December-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost three per cent.
