Banking stocks tumble as investors await rate cut cues from Fed chief

Banking stocks were the top sectoral losers on Friday on profit booking as global investors await rate cut cues from the speech of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium today.The speech comes amid mounting pressure from the White House to lower interest rates.

Meanwhile, Bank Nifty tumbled 537 points to 55,218 against the previous close of Rs 55,755. BSE Bankex too tanked up to 579 pts to 61,555 in the afternoon session. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank , SBI and ICICI Bank were the top losers falling up to 2% in the afternoon session today. 

Despite, today's decline, BSE Bankex is up 6.73% in 2025. 

Indian market tumbled in the afternoon session  with Sensex crashing 530 points to 81,473 and Nifty fell 163 points to 24,923. Overnight, US stocks fell for the fifth session as jobless claims and manufacturing activity rose, while some Fed officials said fewer or no cuts were needed this year due to inflation risks. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to 6370 while the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%.