Sensex Ends Lower; Banking Stocks Continue To Fall

Updated: Monday, February 1, 2016, 15:48 [IST]

Banking stocks continued to languish in trade even as the Sensex ended the day lower, as global cues were relatively quiet, amidst less volatility.

Asian shares ended the day mixed with the Japanese Nikkei continuing to gain ground after the Bank of Japan's surprise decision late last week to push interest rates in the negative.

Sensex Ends Lower; Banking Stocks Continue To Fall

The Sensex ended the day with losses of 45 points, while the Nifty lost 7.60 points in trade. Leading the set of gainers from trade were Cipla, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank. Larsen and Toubro also gained ground and rallied almost 4 per cent in early trade, but, gave-up gains and ended 1 per cent higher.

Banking stocks continued to fall with ICICI Bank and State Bank of India the biggest losers from the Sensex. Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank were the other stocks that saw steep cuts in trade.

The Midcap index ended the day flat, though select stocks like Petronet LNG and Dewan Housing saw a spectacular rally.

Shares in Maruti fell after its Jan numbers disappointed the street. The stock has seen relentless selling pressure this year and is down almost 15 per cent, after spectacular returns of 39 per cent last year.

IPCA Labs was volatile in trade and dropped nearly 13 per cent after reports of receiving warning letter from the US FDA. The stock later recovered and was down only 4 per cent.

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