Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in midday deals on March 6, with selling pressure visible across banking, financial services, aviation, and healthcare stocks. As of 12:30 PM IST, the Nifty 50 was trading at 24,591.60, down 174.30 points or 0.70%, while the BSE Sensex stood at 79,388.55, declining 627.35 points or 0.78%.
The Nifty Bank index was under sharper pressure, falling 794.35 points or 1.35% to 58,261.50.
Several heavyweights in the Nifty 50 index traded in the red during the session, with healthcare, banking, financial services, and infrastructure stocks leading the decline.
Max Healthcare Institute was among the top losers in the index, trading at ₹1,031.6, down 2.5% in midday trade.
Shares of ICICI Bank also declined, falling 2.4% to ₹1,325.0.
Eternal slipped 2.4% to ₹234.5, remaining under pressure during the session.
Aviation major InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, traded lower by 2.3% at ₹4,410.8.
Infrastructure and engineering giant Larsen & Toubro was also among the notable losers, declining 2.2% to ₹3,951.3.
Insurance stock HDFC Life Insurance fell 2.1% to ₹670.1, while Bajaj Finserv traded 2.0% lower at ₹1,874.6.
Banking heavyweights also remained under pressure. HDFC Bank slipped 1.9% to ₹861.0, while Axis Bank declined 1.6% to ₹1,327.6.
Meanwhile, UltraTech Cement also traded in the red, falling 1.7% to ₹12,074.0 in midday trade.
The weakness across financial stocks weighed on broader market sentiment, contributing to the decline in the headline indices during the session.