Indian shares snapped two sessions of gains on Friday, inching down from their all-time highs, as investors turned cautious ahead of the quarterly earnings starting next week.
At 0640 GMT, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.13 percent at 31,327 while the broader Nifty lost 0.14 percent at 9,661.
Sentiment across the globe was subdued after the European Central Bank's June meeting minutes showed the central bank is moving closer towards unwinding its monetary stimulus.
Meanwhile U.S. stocks fell overnight following a private report that showed companies added fewer workers to U.S. payrolls in June than the prior month.
Back home, earnings season is about to kick-start with Infosys, country's second biggest software exporter, on July 14 followed by UltraTech Cement on July 18 and Bajaj Auto on July 20.
Sectors such as FMCG, banking and information technology remained subdued. The laggards were HDFC down 1.5 percent, Bajaj Auto declining 0.9 percent while Asian Paints fell 0.9 percent.
Among the gainers, Tata Teleservices jumped 7 percent while Bharti Airtel gained 1 percent amidst reports the two telecom firms are mulling a tie up.
Pharma companies traded higher. Lupin rose 4.6 percent, Dr Reddy's Laboratories gained 2.1 percent, Cipla advanced 1.5 percent while Sun Pharmaceuticals Iwas up 1.2 percent.
Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
