PNB investors take a hit of Rs 3,000 cr in a single day, shares slump nearly 8% on $1.77 bn fraudulent transactions

Mumbai: In Wednesday’s trade, Punjab National Bank (PNB) shares fell as much as as 7.8 percent intraday on heavy selling pressure following reports that the bank had lost $1.77 billion on ‘fraudulent transactions’ at one of its Mumbai branch. With the sharp fall, investors lost nearly Rs 3,000 crore of wealth on a single day, Moneycontrol reported. The bank said in a statement the transactions were “for the benefit of a few select account holders with their apparent connivance” and that “based on these transactions other banks appear to have advanced money to these customers abroad.” The bank did not name the people involved but said it had reported the deals to law enforcement agencies and would decide whether it faces any liability arising out of the transactions later. The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 173 points to 34,473.43 in early trade today, rising for the second straight session on back of positive macroeconomic data and sustained buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) amid appreciating rupee. Besides, a mixed trend in other Asian markets following positive lead from Wall Street buoyed sentiment here. The 30-share barometer rose 172.96 points, or 0.50 percent, to 34,473.43 in opening session. All sectoral indices were trading in the green, with realty, metal, capital goods and oil & gas rising up to 1.65 percent. The NSE index Nifty climbed 41.50 points, or 0.39 percent, to 10,581.25. [caption id=“attachment_4335717” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Brokers said buying picked up on positive economic data. Industrial output grew by 7.1 percent in December and retail inflation eased in January to 5.07 percent. DIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,342.70 crore on net basis, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 814.11 crore on net basis on Monday, provisional data showed. Major gainers were Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Adani Ports, Wipro, RIL, Dr Reddy’s, L&T, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, M&M, Yes Bank and Coal India, gaining up to 1.92 percent. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.73 percent and Singapore edged up 0.05 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.64 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.32 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, closed 0.16 percent higher in yesterday’s trade.