Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 5 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices were flat during early hours on Friday with banking and metal stocks incurring losses amid weak global cues.

At 10:15 am, the BSE SP Sensex was down by 20 points or 0.04 per cent at 50,826 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 2 points or 0.01 per cent to 15,079.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank down by 1.5 per cent, private bank by 1 per cent and metal by 1 per cent.

Among stocks, IndusInd Bank fell by 2.4 per cent to Rs 1,065.15 per share while ICICI Bank was down by 1.5 per cent to Rs 611.20. HDFC Bank too dipped by 1 per cent to Rs 1,535.15 per share.

State Bank of India, Wipro, Hindalco, Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto also traded in the negative zone.

However, energy stocks gained with ONGC up by 4.5 per cent to Rs 117.80 per share, GAIL rose by 3.5 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation by 1.3 per cent and NTPC by 1.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks dropped to one-month lows as rising US treasury yields again rattled equity investors.

Japan's Nikkei share average cracked by 1.6 per cent and shares in Seoul fell by 1.4 per cent. Chinese shares were in the red with the bluechip CSI300 index off 1.5 per cent.

That sent MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan to 684.52, the lowest since February 1.

Overnight, US stocks dropped after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disappointed some investors by not indicating that the Fed might step up purchases of long-term bonds to hold down longer-term interest rates. (ANI)