After a one-day rally, domestic equities once again came under pressure on Thursday amid brisk selling in banking counters. Nifty Bank, which jumped over 1,000 points in the previous session, today tumbled like a pack of cards (down nearly 800 points), thus, erasing a large portion of the gains made yesterday.
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 298 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at 37,880.40, with IndusInd Bank (down over 6 per cent) being the biggest loser and Bharti Airtel (up 5 per cent) the top gainer. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, ITC and SBI (State Bank of India) contributed the most to the index's fall. During the day, the index hit an intra-day high and low of 38,130.23 and 37,802.93 levels, respectively.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 13,748 levels, down 121 points or 0.87 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 12,723.30, down 73 points or 0.57 per cent.
On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange ended at 11,234.55, down 79 points or 0.70 per cent.
Sectorally, all the indices on the NSE ended in the red.
BUZZING STOCKS
IndusInd Bank ended over 6 per cent lower at Rs 1,228.95 apiece on the BSE after Q2 results announcement. The bank's provision for bad loans and contingencies for the September quarter was increased to Rs 737.71 crore, as against Rs 590.27 crore parked aside a year ago.
READ MORE Shares of Bharti Airtel hit a 52-week high of Rs 385, up 7 per cent on the BSE during the trade, after Reliance Jio (RJio) on Wednesday said it would charge 6 paise per minute on off-net calls. The move, analysts believe, would be viewed as sentimentally positive for telecom companies. At close, the stock stood at Rs 377.40 apiece, up over 5 per cent.
Shares of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) hit an all-time low and were locked in the lower circuit limit of 5 per cent at Rs 25.65 apiece on the BSE after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday rejected the proposed amalgamation of lndiabulls Housing Finance (IBHFL) with the bank.
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GLOBAL MARKETS
Global stocks recouped early losses as news reports raised hopes that the United States and China would settle some economic disputes, but investors were kept on edge by an earlier report that trade talks due to begin on Thursday could be cut short. US S&P500 mini futures ESc1 traded down 0.1 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.24 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.34 per cent. Shanghai shares also rose 0.49 per cent.
European stocks are on course to open higher, with pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 futures rising 0.17 per cent in Asian trade.
In commodities, Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $58.23 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $52.47.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "MARKET WRAP: Sensex declines 298 pts as banks slide; Nifty ends at 11,235")
