HDFC Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bank were the biggest drags on Sensex Domestic stock markets started Friday's session on a lacklustre note amid weakness in banking, financial services and energy shares, a day after benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty halted a rally that stretched to eight days.

The S-P BSE Sensex index dropped 285.79 points - or 0.66 per cent - to 43,071.40 at the weakest level recorded in morning deals, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark slumped to as low as 12,613.95, down 76.85 points - or 0.61 per cent - from its previous close.

At 9:20 am, the Sensex traded 208.03 points - or 0.48 per cent - lower at 43,149.16, while the Nifty was down 57.80 points - or 0.46 per cent - at 12,633.00.

(Track Sensex, Nifty Here)IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors, trading between 1.62 per cent and 2.08 per cent lower, were the worst hit among 31 laggards in the 50-scrip Nifty basket. On the other hand, Eicher Motors, Titan, Grasim, Infosys and Reliance Industries, up 0.96-2.54 per cent each, were the top gainers in the index.HDFC Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bank were the biggest drags on Sensex, together accounting for a drop of more than 150 points in the index.On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a third set of Atmanirbhar Bharat measures, worth Rs 2.65 lakh crore, aimed at rescuing the economy out of a historic contraction caused by the coronavirus pandemic.The latest measures take the total monetary and fiscal aid in the economy's battle against COVID-19-led slowdown to Rs 29.88 lakh crore, or roughly 15 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the Finance Minister saidOn the previous day, the government had announced production-linked incentives worth about Rs 2 lakh crore spread over five years for manufacturers in 10 sectors.Meanwhile, stock markets elsewhere in Asia moved lower on Friday, following on from selloffs in the US and Europe as investors feared the economic impact of an accelerating rise in coronavirus infections.

MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.25 per cent lower as shares across the region stumbled.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.95 per cent.The US has reported fresh daily records for new COVID-19 case hospitalisations this week, prompting cities and states, including Chicago, Detroit and California, to re-impose public health restrictions.European officials have also warned against complacency and said measures to control infections must continue despite hopes that vaccines under development could help to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.