Sensex ends lower; bank shares down

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday, snapping two days of gains, as lenders such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank slumped on worries that a sell-off in government bonds would hit the value of their debt holdings.

The Sensex provisionally closed 0.95 per cent lower at 25,660.84, while the Nifty fell 0.96 per cent to 7,672.05. ICICI Bank Ltd provisionally fell 2.67 per cent while State Bank of India closed down by 2.02 per cent.