Indian shares ended lower on Friday, as financial stocks fell with Punjab National Bank down for a third straight session after it said earlier this week that it had been hit by a $1.77 billion fraud. The benchmark BSE index closed down 0.84 percent at 34,010.76, rising 0.01 percent for the week.
The broader NSE index ended 0.88 percent lower at 10,452.30, ending the week 0.03 percent down. PNB shares fell 2.1 percent after declining 21 percent over the previous two sessions. Shares of Punjab National Bank declined for a third straight session and were down as much as 5.7 percent at their lowest in over a year on concerns over the potential liability from the scam.
Global index provider MSCI had earlier in the day asked the country's main stock exchanges to reconsider their anti-competitive measures which restrict the accessibility of the Indian equity market to foreign exchanges. The Nifty PSU bank index fell as much as 2.4 percent, with Bank of India shedding 3 percent and Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda dropping over 2 percent each.
"Movement is erratic in many shares ... impact on PNB stock may be done, but if other banks have exposure to the same group, then it could become an issue," said Jayant Manglik, President-Retail Distribution, Religare Broking. Auto stocks fell, with Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors figuring among the top percentage losers on the NSE index. The Nifty IT index traded 0.8 percent higher. Market heavyweights Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services rose as much as 2.5 percent.
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