Financial stocks pull key indices lower

Mumbai: Volatility continued to dominate the Dalal Street on Monday as the frontline indices erased all their morning gains to settle in the negative zone.

Financial stocks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and HDFC contributed the most to the indices' losses. However, buying in auto and IT counters gave the much-needed support to the market.

At the index level, the S&P BSE Sensex shed over 81 points or 0.26 per cent to 31,561.22 levels. Of 30 constituents, 16 declined and 14 advanced.

ICICI Bank (down over 5 per cent) ended as the top loser on the index while Hero MotoCorp (up over 6 per cent) emerged as the top gainer on the index. On the NSE, Nifty slipped 12 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 9,239.20.

Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) were locked in the upper circuit band of five per cent at Rs 1,302.85 apiece on the BSE in the early trade on Monday after Ministry of Railways announced that the Indian Railways will gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains.