Indian shares fell for a fourth consecutive session on Friday and posted their biggest weekly drop in almost three months, weighed down by weak global markets and mixed quarterly earnings. Financials were among the losers as investors braced for the central bank's monetary policy review next week that is expected to raise banks' reserve requirements and curtail money available for loans to tame inflation pressures.

The 30-share BSE index fell 1.1 percent, taking losses for the week to 4 percent - its biggest weekly drop since 5.4 percent slide in the last week of October last year. Larsen & Toubro stock dropped 3.4 percent to 1,472.35 rupees, its lowest close in five months. Top lender State Bank of India shed 1.6 percent, while rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank dropped 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. The BSE index dropped 1.12 percent, or 191.46 points, to 16,859.68, its lowest close in a month. Only four of its components advanced.

Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel eased 0.3 percent to 321.30 rupees, after rising as much as 2.4 percent in early trade as its net profit rose 2 percent to 22.1 billion rupees under US accounting rules in its fiscal third quarter ended December. In the broader market, decliners led gainers in the ratio of 2.4:1 on volume of 532 million shares, lower than last week's daily average of 651 million shares. The 50-share NSE index closed 1.1 percent lower at 5,036.

Copyright Reuters, 2010