Banking stocks came under sharp selling pressure on Thursday, dragging the index to its lowest level in nearly a year, as concerns mounted over potential losses following the RBI’s tighter curbs on speculative activity in the market.
The banking index fell as much as 2.9 per cent to 49,954.85, its weakest level since April 2025, with all constituents trading in the red. On April 7, 2025, it stood at 49860.1.
Among individual stocks, heavyweights , , , and shed 2-4 per cent. Federal Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank and PNB were other notable losers.
In its latest move, the barred banks from offering rupee non-deliverable forwards to both resident and non-resident clients. This came shortly after it imposed a cap of $100 million on banks’ net open rupee positions, tightening their ability to take speculative bets.
The central bank’s actions come amid heightened pressure on the rupee, which recently hit a series of record lows due to concerns over global geopolitical tensions, including spillovers from the Iran conflict.
(This is a developing story)