Bank Nifty falls nearly 600 points intra-day

Bank Nifty touched a low of 18,785, has fallen 589 points from its day's high of 19,374 hit in early morning trade on the NSE.

Banking shares were under pressure, falling by upto 4% in late afternoon trade and erasing their entire morning gains.

Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda were dipped 3%-4%, while IndusInd Bank, YES Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of India and State Bank of India were down 2% each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

At 1511 hours, Bank Nifty was down 1.7% or 331 points at 18,816 compared with 0.56% decline in the benchmark CNX Nifty. The banking index hit a low of 18,785, has fallen 589 points from its intra-day high of 19,374 touched in early morning trade.

Most of the banking shares opened higher reacting positively to the dovish outlook for interest rates in the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The US Fed noted that economic growth has moderated somewhat and stressed that it remains unlikely to raise interest at its April meeting.