Sensex cracks by 441 points, PSU banks and metal stocks dip

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 5 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices closed nearly 1 per cent lower after a choppy trading session on Friday with PSU bank and metal stocks incurring substantial losses amid weak global cues.
At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 441 points or 0.87 per cent lower at 50,405 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 143 points or 0.95 per cent to 14,938.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank down by 3.9 per cent, private bank by 1.6 per cent, metal by 2.7 per cent and IT by 1.5 per cent.
Among stocks, IndusInd Bank fell by 4.5 per cent to Rs 1,043 per share while State Bank of India was down by 2.6 per cent to Rs 385.35.
IT major Wipro slipped by 3.8 per cent while Tata Motors skidded by 3.7 per cent to Rs 326.45. Metal majors Hindalco and Tata Steel were down by 2.9 per cent each.
However, energy stocks gained with ONGC up by 2.4 per cent to Rs 115.40 per share and GAIL rose by 1.7 per cent to Rs 147.
Among the other gainers were Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks dropped to one-month lows as rising US treasury yields again rattled equity investors.
Japan's Nikkei share average cracked by 0.23 per cent and shares in Seoul fell by 0.57 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 0.47 per cent.
Overnight, US stocks dropped after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disappointed some investors by not indicating that the Fed might step up purchases of long-term bonds to hold down longer-term interest rates. (ANI)