Sensex falls on earnings caution; Tata Motors down

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, as caution ahead of major company earnings such as Tata Motors Ltd and uncertainty about Greece's fiscal woes prompted investors to trim positions.

Tata Motors fell 1 percent, down for a second session amid expectations its January-March earnings due later in the day could disappoint due to sluggish sales at unit Jaguar Land Rover in China.

"We are not expecting any great set of numbers from any of these companies, so the pressure will be there," said Daljeet Kohli, director and head of research at IndiaNivesh Securities.

Traders also continued to monitor developments in Greece after its government said it intends to make good on its debt obligations but needs aid urgently to be able to do so.

 

The BSE Sensex and Nifty were down 0.18 percent each.

Cigarette maker ITC Ltd was down 0.5 percent, sliding for a second session after disappointing earnings on Friday.

Among other movers, India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fell 1.9 percent and was also headed for a second day of losses on profit-taking after the stock surged 6.1 percent last week.

Among the gainers, shares to be included in MSCI global indexes after the close of markets on Friday continued to rally. Bharti Infratel Ltd rose as much as 8.9 percent to a record high, while Marico Ltd gained 3 percent, also touching its all-time high.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta and Rafael Nam; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)