Banking stocks fall in early session on BSE; HDFC sheds 2%

Profit booking in banking stocks today pulled down the 30-share benchmark Sensex in the morning trade, with HDFC plunging nearly two per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of the mortgage lender HDFC lost 1.89 per cent to touch a early low of Rs 731.20 on BSE. In the early morning trade, the scrip was the worst performer in the index and dragged Sensex down by 20.99 points to 20,522.09.

Market analysts attributed the weakness in the financial stocks to the lack of fresh buying and the profit booking by the investors.

Erasing last session's gains, shares of private sector lender ICICI Bank were down by 1.06 per cent to an early morning low of Rs 1,136.40. This is in contrast to yesterday, where the scrip had touched a 52-week high with a gain of 2.27 per cent on BSE.

Another major private player, HDFC Bank, also opened the day on a weak note, slipping 0.87 per cent lower at Rs 2,433. The country's largest lender, SBI, too was trading in red at Rs 3,215, down 0.52 per cent from previous close.

The weakness in the major banking counters in the morning trade pulled the banking index on BSE down by over 44 points.