Slide in banking stocks drags indices; Sensex closes 229 points lower

Of the 19 sectoral indices of the BSE, 16 ended with losses, with metal and realty indices declining the most

The benchmarks ended weak on Wednesday, after shares of banks slid on fears of exposure to the telecom sector. The Sensex fell 229 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 40,116, while the Nifty ended at 11,840, down 0.6 per cent, or 73 points. Banks, with significant weight in the indices, led the fall, with YES Bank dropping 6.5 per cent, SBI falling 3.7 per cent, and Axis Bank down 3.2 per cent. The top seven financial stocks contributed negatively to the Sensex by 265 points. The Bank Nifty fell 1.84 per cent. Analysts said investors were fretting over banks’ exposure