Bank stocks witness nervous trading ahead of RBI policy

Stocks of banking firms, including SBI and ICICI Bank, today dipped as much as four per cent in the morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange ahead of the RBI's annual monetary policy to be unveiled later in the day.

The BSE banking index opened in a weak note and dipped 3.58 per cent to its intra-day low level of 5,277.46 points. It was later quoted at 5,363.09 points, down 2.02 per cent on the BSE.

Shares of the country's largest public sector lender, State Bank of India, dipped 2.69 per cent to touch its intra-day low of Rs 1,261 and leading private sector lender ICICI Bank declined 5.93 per cent over its previous close to dip to its day's low of Rs 401.25 on the BSE.

 

Other major losers in the banking index include Axis Bank, which was trading down 2.90 per cent, Bank of India (down 1.32 per cent), HDFC Bank (1.03 per cent), IDBI Bank (down 0.82 per cent), Kotak Bank (down 4.15 per cent) and Oriental Bank (down 1.59 per cent).

Meanwhile, Punjab National Bank and Indusind Bank defied the trend and were trading with gains of 1.58 per cent and 1.41 per cent, respectively.

Marketmen said banking stocks opened on a weak note and witnessed nervous trading ahead of the RBI's annual monetary policy.

The dip in the banking counter was amid 215.42 points fall in Sensex in early trade.