Sensex falls over 100 points, Nifty tests 19,750; RBL Bank, Aditya Birla Capital down up to 8%

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in Friday's early deals, dragged by banks and financials. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 119 points or 0.18 per cent to trade at 65,863, while the NSE Nifty was down 13 points or 0.07 per cent to trade at 19,752. Although, broader markets (mid- and small-cap shares) were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 was up 0.06 per cent and small-cap edged 0.15 per cent higher.

On the global front, Asian markets took a breather today after a rally earlier in the week. Overnight, Wall Street equities closed marginally lower.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Indian shares for the second session in a row during the previous session, adding Rs 957 crore worth of shares on a net basis. FIIs were net sellers for 15 sessions in a row, prior to the buying in the last two sessions. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended their buying streak for the 21st session in a row, picking up shares worth a net Rs 706 crore.

Five out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.76 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively. On the flip side, Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma rose 0.80 per cent, 0.45 per cent and 0.43 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, State Bank of India Ltd (SBI) was the top loser in the Nifty pack as the stock cracked 2.77 per cent to trade at Rs 568.45. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv and ONGC fell up to 1.97 per cent.

In contrast, Asian Paints, BPCL, Bajaj Auto, Divi's Lab and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top gainers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,866 shares were advancing while 839 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Axis Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Infosys were among the top laggards.

Also, RBL Bank Ltd, Aditya Birla Capital Ltd, SBI Card, Poonawalla Fincorp and L&T Finance Holding tanked up to 7.70 per cent. On the other hand, Greenlam Industries, Solar Industries India, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Titagarh Rail Systems and PCBL jumped up to 9.51 per cent.

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