Nifty Trades Lower, Banking Stocks Drop

Benchmark indices were trading lower, as global cues were weak and a rally in U.S. stocks fizzled out after California rolled back its reopening plans and Los Angeles schools said they would start the year online, as coronavirus continued to have an impact across the globe.

India too reported record infections that crossed the 9,00,000 mark for the first time. The Sensex was trading with losses of nearly 150 points, while the Nifty fell 74 points to trade at 10,723 points. Banking stocks led declines with HDFC Bank dropping another 2 per cent in trade.

The bank has said that it would launch a probe into its auto lending practices following allegations. Reliance Industries, which has managed to remain strong and hit record highs on Monday, fell marginally and was down 0.50 per cent. The company is set hold an AGM on Wednesday.

Yes Bank shares continued to drop and was down 5.44 per cent in trade. Investors sold into the stock after the FPO offer was priced much lower compared to the current market price.

Software stocks continued to gain with Wipro, Infosys and HCL Tech among the early gainers. Wipro is slated to declare its quarterly numbers later today. HDFC was the top loser from the Nifty in early trade.