NEW DELHI: Extending the losses for the second session, the BSE Bankex index was trading in red with shares of Axis Bank (down 1.70 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 0.80 per cent), HDFC Bank (down 0.70 per cent) and Bank of Baroda (down 0.64 per cent) as the top losers.

The BSE Bankex index was trading 137 points lower at 27650 around 11.40 am (IST) in Wednesday's trade.

State Bank of India (0.64 per cent) was the only stock trading in green in the index around that time.

The fall in PSU banking stocks emerged after bank employee unions called for a nation-wide strike on August 22 to protest privatisation and merger of public sector banks, among other demands.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), which represents nine bank unions and employees of public and private sector banks, has called for a nation-wide strike on August 22 to press for various demands, its general secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

Among other sectoral indices, BSE Metal, IT and consumer durables were trading up, while BSE Healthcare index cracked over 2 per cent.

Benchmark Nifty50 index was 34 points down at 9,944, while the 30-share Sensex was declining by 110 points, trading at 31,904 around 11.40 am (IST).

In the Nifty50 pack, 13 stocks were trading in green, while 38 stocks were in red.

On BSE, 689 stocks were advancing whereas 1,557 stocks were lagging.

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