Sensex down by 300 points, banking and metal stocks suffer

Equity benchmark indices were in the negative territory during early hours on Monday on the back of subdued global cues.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was down by 300 points at 38,522 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 87 point to 11,425. At the National Stock Exchange, most sectoral indices were in the red except for FMCG and IT.

Among stocks, Yes Bank was a prominent loser with a plunge of 9.85 per cent at Rs 43.95 apiece. IndusInd Bank slipped by 5.7 per cent and ICICI Bank by 2.6 per cent.

Metal stocks tumbled with JSW Steel dipping by 3.7 per cent, Tata Steel by 3.5 per cent, Vedanta by 2.8 per cent and Hindalco by 2.6 per cent.

Tata Motors lost by 3.2 per cent to Rs 120.45 per share after Jaguar Land Rover said it will suspend production for a week after the planned Brexit date of October 31 as a prudent measure.

The other major losers were Cipla, Zee Entertainment and Tata Motors.

However, IT stocks were up with HCL Technologies gaining by 2.4 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys by 1.1 per cent each, and Wipro by 0.1 per cent. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was up marginally by 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were little changed following reports the Trump administration is considering radical new financial pressure tactics on Beijing, including the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped by 0.41 per cent as shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group plunged more than 2.5 per cent. Hang Seng index traded largely flat with the Shanghai composite shedding 0.18 per cent.