Sensex falls 292 points, banking stocks major drag

The BSE Sensex fell 291.87 points or 0.76 percent to 38,322.92 in early trade while the NSE Nifty dropped 73.00 points or 0.64 percent to 11,335.40.

Major losers in the Sensex pack were ICCI Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, ITC, Kotak Bank, ONGC, Asian Paint, Titan, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and SBI, falling upto 1.96 percent. On the other hand, major gainers were NTPC, Powergrid, TCS, Infosys, and HCL Tech, rising  upto 1.43 percent.

Wall Street`s downbeat finish gave Asian markets a dour lead with Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures losing 0.25%, Japan`s Nikkei 225 futures down 0.15% and Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index futures off 0.08%, a Reuters report said.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex settled 86.47 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 38,614.79. The NSE Nifty rose 23.05 points or 0.20 per cent to 11,408.40.