State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) cut its stake in Axis Bank and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) by 2 percent each.

It has sold over 5.25 crore shares in Axis Bank, representing 2.004 percent stake, through open market transaction.

As per a BSE filing by Axis Bank, after the sale, LIC's stake in the private lender has come down to 10.2 percent from 12.21 percent. It said that 5,25,06,202 shares were sold, however, the amount was not disclosed.

The value of the sale cannot be ascertained as the shares were sold overtime. The sale took place between 21 March 2014 and 20 June 2019.

Shares of Axis Bank closed lower by 1.18 percent on Monday at Rs 762.85 a piece on BSE. On Tuesday, the stock continued trading lower than its previous close, down by 0.31 percent to Rs 760.45 at 10.52 am.

In a separate regulatory filing, BHEL said that LIC sold 2 percent stake in its holding as well. A total of 6.96 crore shares were sold by the insurance giant through the open market, bringing down its total holding to 11.701 percent. The sale occurred between 4 April and 20 June.

Shares of BHEL were trading lower by 1.09 percent to Rs 72.90 apiece.