Indian shares ended lower for a third consecutive session on Tuesday, as private sector banks dropped but recovery was seen in state-run lenders, after sharp declines following the $1.77 billion fraud unearthed by Punjab National Bank (PNB) last week. The benchmark BSE index closed down 0.21 percent at 33,703.59. The broader NSE index ended 0.17 percent lower at 10,360.40.

PNB shares declined as much as 4.7 percent to their lowest since July 2016 and were headed for a fifth session of slump. They have lost 120 billion rupees ($1.86 billion) in market value since February 12, when the lender disclosed fraudulent transactions at a branch. "There has been a sense of negativity among market participants (after the fraud) and this has shattered the confidence for PSU banks," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of research at SMC Global Securities, adding that this was benefiting private sector lenders. The Nifty IT index rose as much as 1.3 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2018