Shares of banking companies plunged over 7 per cent in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange amid weak global cues as domestic traders resorted to profit booking.
Led by ICICI Bank which tanked 7 per cent, the 18-share BSE Banking index fell 4.34 per cent to 7,465.78 points.
The country’s biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank fell 7.23 per cent in morning trade to a low of Rs 644.70 while HDFC Bank went down to 3.11 per cent to Rs 1,382.05 on the BSE.
Among the public sector lenders, State Bank of India fell 3.38 per cent to Rs 1,581, Canara Bank was down 6.22 per cent at Rs 248.05 and Punjab National Bank dipped to a low of Rs 598, down 4.42 per cent as compared to its previous close on the BSE.
Marketmen said the domestic market is currently following global cues and after a slight bounce back yesterday it was expected to go down again.
“Bankex was the laggard performer on the day of Budget presentation on concerns of widening fiscal deficit which would leave no scope for softening of interest rates in near future,” Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.
Other major index wise losers include IDBI Bank (6.92 per cent), Bank of India (3.55 per cent), Kotak Bank (5.64 per cent) and Axis Bank (3.98 per cent).