Bank Nifty hits five-month lows

Banking shares continue to be under pressure, with the Bank Nifty hitting five-month lows, on the back of heavy selling by overseas investors.

At 1415 hours, the Bank Nifty was down 2.3% or 425 points at 17,374 against 0.8% fall in the CNX Nifty. The banking index touched a low of 17,351, its lowest level since November 12, 2014, in intra-day trades.

The Bank Nifty has fallen 6% in the past two trading sessions and 13% from its all-time closing high of 20,008 on March 2, 2015.

Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank are down 3-4% each, while Axis Bank, Federal Bank and HDFC Bank are down 2% each on the NSE.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (down 6% at Rs 189), UCO Bank (down 4% at Rs 58.50) and Union Bank (down 3% at Rs 132) have hit their respective 52-week lows during the day.

In the past ten trading sessions, the foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian shares to the tune of Rs 11,516 crore, according to stock exchange data.