The BSE Sensex fell for a sixth consecutive session yesterday to its lowest close in four months as blue chips such as State Bank of India continued to reel from concerns about political instability and doubts over the prospect of future rate cuts.

Falls also tracked Asian shares which hovered near their lowest in nearly three months as Cyprus scrambled to avoid a meltdown of its banking system and a possible exit from the euro zone.

The Reserve Bank of India's cautious stance on future rate cuts and the DMK's withdrawal in the ruling UPA coalition have left investors concerned about economic growth and the prospect of additional fiscal reforms, with benchmark indexes now hovering close to breaking their 200-day moving averages.

"Stocks may start looking attractive if more falls come, but political instability and developments overseas like Cyprus do not help," said Capital Portfolio Advisers managing director and principal portfolio manager Paras Adenwala.

Political developments have made the situation very hostile, with every rise used as a selling opportunity, added Adenwala.

The BSE Sensex fell 0.3 per cent, or 57.27 points, to end at 18,735.60.

The index fell 3.6 per cent for the week, marking a second week of losses.

The Nifty fell 0.13 per cent, or 7.40 points, to end at 5,651.35, falling for a sixth day, and marking its biggest losing streak since seven sessions of falls ending November 19, 2012.

The Nifty also fell 3.8 per cent for the week, marking its biggest weekly loss since December 18, 2011.

ICICI Bank fell 0.7 per cent, while State Bank of India ended 1.7 per cent lower on fears the Reserve Bank of India may not ease interest rates in May after it issued a cautious statement on monetary policy on Tuesday, dealers said.

Dealers added that risk aversion is also weighing on blue chips like Tata Motors, which fell 1.2 per cent after earlier rising as much as 1.7 per cent even as its unit Jaguar Land Rover Limited said on Thursday it did not expect sales in China to be hurt by the new fuel standard norms.

Shares in Oracle Financial Services Software Limited fell 3.8 per cent, tracking a slump in parent company Oracle Corporation on Thursday after the US software maker's third-quarter revenue fell far short of expectations.

Shares of other IT companies were also under selling pressure on weak market sentiment. Tata Consultancy Services dropped 1.1 per cent, while Infosys shares closed down 0.3 per cent.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 1.1 per cent after Bank of America-Merill Lynch replaced it with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited in its model portfolio. Sun Pharma's shares also ended 1.3 per cent lower.

However, defensive stocks rose in a volatile market with ITC Limited ending 0.2 per cent higher, marking a weekly gain of 1.2 per cent.-Reuters