Banks under pressure; Nifty PSU Bank index hits 52-week low

Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Indian Bank and Syndicate Bank were down in the range of 4% to 7%.

Banking shares public as well as private sector were under pressure with Nifty PSU bank index hitting 52-week low of 2,917 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in noon deal. The index fell below its earlier low of 2,928 recorded in October 19, 2017 in intra-day trade.

At 03:18 pm; Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest loser among sectoral indices, slipped 3.5% at 2,918, while Nifty Bank index down 1.5% or 360 points at 24,459. On comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 index was trading 1.1% lower at 10,242 points, Nifty Bank index hit an intra-day low 24,441, its lowest level since October 24, 2017.

Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Andhra Bank from the Nifty PSU Bank index touched their respective 52-week lows on the NSE in intra-day trade. Besides these five banks, Indian Bank and Syndicate Bank were down in the range of 4% to 7%.

ICICI Bank slipped 3% to Rs 294 after the media report suggested that the bank’s chief Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank's Shikha Sharma have been summoned by the anti-fraud agency, SFIO, in a bank fraud case.

The NSE said that the exchange has sought clarification from the Company with respect to news item captioned- "ICICI's Chanda Kochhar, Axis Bank's Shikha Sharma summoned by SFIO in PNB scam case."

In this regard, Exchange has advised the Company to provide clarification/confirmation on the news item in detail, it added. The reply is awaited.

BANK	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS(%)
BANK OF INDIA	102.95	110.60	-6.92
INDIAN BANK	288.05	306.50	-6.02
CANARA BANK	265.80	280.85	-5.36
SYNDICATE BANK	56.35	59.35	-5.05
VIJAYA BANK	53.90	56.55	-4.69
BANK OF MAHA	15.30	16.05	-4.67
J & K BANK	63.50	66.25	-4.15
UNION BANK (I)	96.70	100.70	-3.97
IDBI BANK	81.50	84.40	-3.44
ANDHRA BANK	42.75	44.20	-3.28
ALLAHABAD BANK	48.75	50.35	-3.18
ST BK OF INDIA	255.65	263.80	-3.09
ORIENTAL BANK	95.30	98.30	-3.05
KARUR VYSYA BANK	103.00	106.20	-3.01
PUNJAB NATL.BANK	97.10	100.05	-2.95
CENTRAL BANK	63.40	65.30	-2.91
BANK OF BARODA	134.85	138.55	-2.67
ICICI BANK	295.05	303.10	-2.66