Bank stocks continued to be in a free fall with five PSU bank stocks in the CNX Bank Nifty hitting fresh 52- week lows on the NSE in afternoon trade.
Bank Nifty was down by 202 points with all the 12 bank stocks forming the index trading in the red just before 1 p.m.
State Bank of India fell to a new yearly low of Rs 1,751.70 today before it pulled back to Rs 1,758.60, a loss of Rs 39.55. BoI, which touched a new low of Rs 180.50, was trading at Rs 182.40, a loss of Rs 9.20. PNB, which witnessed a rise in NPA levels in the first quarter of this year, fell to a yearly low of Rs 585.25 before recovering to Rs 593.10, a loss of Rs 32.55.
Union Bank of India dipped to a new 52-week low of Rs 136.05 and Canara Bank touched a low of Rs 267.60. Both stocks made mild recovery from their lows.
Among the private sector banks, ICICI Bank stock posted a modest loss of Rs 3.30 to trade at Rs 931.55. YES Bank stock shed Rs 26.15 to trade at Rs 347.55.