Nifty Bank at record high; HDFC Bank, RBL Bank hit 52-week highs

The Bank Nifty hit an all-time high on March 27 as the rally in banking stocks continued for the second consecutive day.  The index surpassed its previous record high of 30,008 registered on March 22 and hit a fresh intraday high of 30,129.25 in the morning trade.

The rally was led by IndusInd Bank (up 3.8 percent), followed by RBL Bank (up 1.86 percent), Yes Bank (up 1.5 percent), PNB (up 1.3 percent), and Bank of Baroda (up 1 percent).

As many as two stocks in the Nifty Bank hit a fresh 52-week high. HDFC Bank surged to Rs 2,328.05, and RBL Bank rose to Rs 667.80 intraday on March 27.

Most experts feel that the rally is here to stay and investors can remain net long in the index with an initial target of 30,250. The support is seen at 29,500.

“Bank Nifty formed a Bullish candle similar to Bullish Marubozu on a daily scale that indicates complete dominance by the bulls and gained more than 700 points on March 26,” Chandan Taparia, Associate Vice President, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said.

“Now as long as the index holds above 29,500 it can extend its gains towards new lifetime high territory of 30,250 while on the downside, crucial support is seen at 29,500,” he said.

The index has rallied by nearly 1000 points in this week. It has surged from intraday low of 29,156 recorded on March 25 to the current level along with a sharp rise in open interest indicating fresh long accumulation.

“Private banks were leaders whereas sentimental boost was also provided by PSU banks, which rallied nearly 5.5 percent. IVs, on the other hand, remained choppy towards the end of the week, which may attract some ATM Put writing in private banks in the expiry week,” ICICIdirect said in a report.

Major OI concentration is seen in 30,000 strike Call. However, OI is well distributed in OTM Puts with the highest addition in 29,300 strike.