Bank stocks, which got off to a firm start, continue to trade in positive territory thanks to sustained buying support.
The sector is seeing some brisk buying today on the back of a statement from finance minister Arun Jaitley that the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India have taken a crucial policy decision on dealing with bad loans of Indian banks. Jaitley said an announcement in this regard will be made in a few days.
The BSE Bankex is up 1.2%. The Nifty Bank is up 1.1%, Nifty PSU Bank index is rising 2.7% and Nifty Pvt Bank index is up 1.05%.
The BSE Bankex, which registered a high of 24,346.02 last Friday (17 March 2017), is currently at 24,042.50. The Nifty Bank index, at 21,124.00, off the day's high of 21,144.50, is not far off its all-time high of 21,336.05, recorded recently.
Among the top stocks in the banking space, ICICI Bank is up 3.2%, State Bank of India is gaining 2.5%, Punjab National Bank is up 2.8%, Bank of India is gaining 4.2%, Bank of Baroda is rising 3.75% and Federal Bank is up 2.4%. Yes Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank are up 0.7% - 1.2%, while HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank are around their previous closing levels.
Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Allahabad Bank, Union Bank of India and Andhra Bank are up 2.3% - 4%. City Union Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and IDFC Bank are gaining 1% - 1.75%, while IDBI Bank is modestly higher.
