Nifty Trades Below 11,000 Points, Banking Stocks Fall

Benchmark indices opened the day lower, even as Asian markets were mostly trading higher. The Japanese and Chinese markets were leading gainers across Asia after a private survey released Monday showed China's manufacturing activity expanded in July.

Indian benchmark indices both opened the day lower, with the Nifty down 76 points near the 10,997 points, while the BSE Sensex was trading with losses of more than 250 points in early trade.

Banking stocks were clearly leading the losers in trade with HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank among the early losers from the Nifty. Early gainers from the Nifty were the auto stocks like Tata Motors, HeroMoto Corp, Maruti and Eicher Motors.

IRB Infra shares rose after the company said it has received an award letter from NHAI for executing a stretch of Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway at a cost of Rs 1,755 crore. The stock was up nearly 2 per cent in early trade.

Auto numbers saw a solid recovery in the month of July, pushing auto stocks higher. Bajaj Auto, HeroMoto Corp and Mahindra and Mahindra were among the gainers.

CreditAccess Grameen saw its shares rise despite a reported 22 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 75 crore in April-June quarter.