BSE Sensex today: HDFC, SBI and ITC were the top drags on Sensex. The S-P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indices extended losses in noon deals dragged by losses in HDFC, State Bank of India, ITC, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Larsen - Toubro and Yes Bank.
Earlier in the day, the benchmarks fluctuated between gains and losses amid volatile trade after starting the session on a positive note amid gains in Asian peers.
The S-P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 172.54 points to touch 40,952.13 on the upside, before slumping as much as 370 points from that level to hit low of 40,582.23.
The broader NSE Nifty benchmark moved in a range of 98.8 points between 11,958.25 and 12,057.05.
A selloff across sectors barring pharma shares - led by banking, auto, metal and energy stocks - pulled the markets lower.
At 12:40 pm, the Sensex traded 103.87 points - or 0.25 per cent - lower at 40,675.72 while the Nifty was down 33.50 points - or 0.28 per cent - at 11,984.90. Top percentage laggards on the 50-scrip index at the time were Yes Bank, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), State Bank of India (SBI), Mahindra - Mahindra and GAIL, trading between 1.90 per cent and 7.97 per cent lower.HDFC, SBI and ITC were the top drags on Sensex.Ten out of the 11 sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the negative territory.
The pharmaceuticals gauge on the exchange, however, traded higher at that time.Market breadth favoured losses, with 806 stocks on the BSE trading higher and 1,374 moving lower.
On the NSE, 579 stocks advanced while 1,141 declined and 415 remained unchanged.Equities in other Asian markets traded higher as investors hoped US-China trade talks would move in direction after positive signals from American President Donald Trump.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5 per cent after Trump's upbeat tone in comments on Thursday, despite a lack of agreement between Washington and Beijing over whether existing tariffs should be dropped as part of a preliminary trade deal.On Thursday, the Sensex and Nifty indices settled on a weak note after Asia's most aggressive central bank - Reserve Bank of India - surprised analysts and economists by pausing to cut repo rate at its December monetary policy review.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent and reverse repo rate at 4.90 per cent on concerns of headline inflation breaching its medium-term target.However, the RBI promised to continue with its accommodative stance in its monetary policy.