Benchmark indices fell sharply in trade wiping out the spectacular gains seen on Wednesday, as investors sold heavily after the Bank of Japan maintained a status quo on its Monetary Policy.

The Sensex ended the day lower by 200.88 points, while the Nifty dropped 65.85 points in trade.
Select private banking stocks slumped in trade, even as investors made a beeline for PSU banking stocks.

Private sector banking stocks like ICICI Bank and Axis Bank dropped sharply in trade, while government owned banks like Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Syndicate Bank saw good buying interest.

Metal stocks continued to see a spectacular rally with stocks like Hindalco and Vedanta among the top gainers.

ICICI Bank was the top loser in trade, while other stocks that lost ground were Maruti, Bharti Airtel and NTPC.

Shares in Premier Explosives was up 4 per cent after the company said that it would list on NSE.

Deccan Cements on the other hand gained after ICRA upgraded the ratings of the company from BBB+ to A (long term).

Midcap stocks also declined in line with the broad markets, with the index seeing losses of near 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, markets across Europe were trading with deep cuts led by the German DAX. The rupee was last seen trading at Rs 67.25 to the US dollar.

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