Bears tighten grip, PSU bank and auto stocks worst hit

Equity benchmark indices cracked further on Friday amid weak Asian cues with banking and auto majors taking a hit.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 435 points or 0.85 per cent lower at 50,890 while the Nifty 50 edged slipped by 137 points or 0.91 per cent to 14,982.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank down by 4.7 per cent, auto by 2.6 per cent and metal by 1.9 per cent.

Among stocks, Hero MotoCorp lost by 3.7 per cent to Rs 3,390.75 per share while Tata Motors skidded by 3.5 per cent, Bajaj Auto by 2.7 per cent and Eicher Motors by 2.5 per cent.

The other losers were energy major ONGC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

Among those which gained were Dr Reddy's, UPL, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Lever, Nestle India, GAIL, NTPC and Reliance Industries.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks pulled back from all-time peaks with dented investor confidence in a faster economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan's Nikkei fell by 0.72 per cent. Hong Kong and South Korean shares were up marginally.

( With inputs from ANI )