Equity parameters reverse early gains, banking stocks take a hit

Equity benchmark indices wiped out early gains and slipped into the negative terrain around noon on Monday as profit booking accelerated in banking and financial stocks.

At 12 noon, the BSE S&P Sensex up down by 226 points or 0.57 per cent at 39,242 while the Nifty 50 lost by 98 points or 0.85 per cent at 11,549.

Except for Nifty IT, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank losing by 2.7 per cent, private bank by 2.2 per cent and financial service by 1.2 per cent.

Among stocks, IndusInd Bank lost by 4.6 per cent to Rs 635.25 per share while Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank slipped by 2.4 and 2.3 per cent respectively. Government-owned State Bank of India dipped by 3.2 per cent to Rs 217.50 per share.

The other prominent losers were Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Eicher Motors and JSW Steel.

However, Future Retail was up by 18.3 per cent to Rs 160.05 per share after Mukesh Amb-led Reliance Industries (RIL) said it will acquire the company's retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing business for Rs 24,713 crore.

GVK Power and Infrastructure rose by 3.36 per cent after the company along with its subsidiaries GVK Airport Developers and GVK Airport Holdings agreed to cooperate with Ad Airport Holdings, the flagship holding company of Ad Group for its airports business and a subsidiary of Ad Enterprises Ltd.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were on a 29-month high as investors were upbeat reading on China's service sector data. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.5 per cent.

Chinese blue chips firmed by 0.7 per cent after surveys showed Chinese services jumping a full point to 55.2 in a hopeful sign of reviving consumer demand.

Tokyo's Nikkei rallied by 1.9 per cent aided by news Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had bought more than 5 per cent stakes in each of the five leading Japanese trading compes.

( With inputs from ANI )