Mumbai: The stock market saw a steady decline after a positive start as both benchmarks Sensex and Nifty moved to negative zone as caution set in ahead of CPI inflation to be released on Monday.
Investors also focussed on oil prices and the West Asian crisis and reacted to the September quarterly earnings of heavyweights such as Idea Cellular, L&T and Coal India.
The 30-share index resumed positive before slipping to 33,176.67, down 137.89 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 1122 hours. The broader NSE Nifty traded lower by 55 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 10,266.75.
Major losers were L&T, Coal India and Cipla, sliding up to 2.95 per cent.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 529.22 crore last Friday, as per provisional data released by stock exchanges.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,920.87 crore. Overseas, Asian markets saw a mixed trend.
US stocks closed mostly lower last Friday as they snapped multi-week winning streak while some of the largest technology stocks pulled back.
PTI
Sensex loses 138 points as caution sets in ahead of inflation data
