Benchmark indices remained under selling pressure in the afternoon, dragged by banks, telecom, metal, capital goods and power.

Benchmark indices fell further with Nifty50 slipping below 10,200 mark, its lowest level in 2018, on subdued cues from Asian equities. Indices were also dragged by losses in shares of public sector banks, real estate and metal companies.

At 3:15 PM, the BSE Sensex was trading at 32,998, down 319 points, while the Nifty50 index was trading at 10,145, down 104 points.

The BSE Midcap Index slipped 0.99% and the BSE Smallcap Index was down 1.67%.

Volatility index India VIX down 2.10% to 15.9025.

Shares of metal companies were down 1.4% as US President Donald Trump asserted that he is going ahead with his plans to sign the executive order to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Shares of PSU banks were the top losers among sectoral indices, down nearly 4%.

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today reported 2.6 percent decline in global sales at 39,911 units in February. Stock is marginally down.

Shares of ICICI Bank were down for the sixth consecutive session today, falling 2.5% after reports said that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office has summoned Managing Director Chanda Kochhar seeking an explanation on exposure to Gitanjali Group companies.

HCL Tech (+1.8%), Zee (+1.1%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (+1%), ITC (+1.05%) and Bajaj Auto (+0.97%) were the top gainers on Nifty50.

Bharti Airtel (-4.4%), SBI (-3.5%), ONGC (-3.5%), Indiabulls HF (-2.8%) and Adani Ports (-2.6%) were the top losers in today’s trade.

Out of 2,013 stocks traded on the NSE, 255 advanced, 1,459 declined and 303 remained unchanged today.

A total of 12 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 176 stocks touched a new 52-week low.

source: indiainfoline.com