Banks extend rally; HDFC Bank at new high, ICICI Bank nears record high

YES Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDFC Bank, Federal Bank, PNB, SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank from the Nifty Bank index were up in the range of 1% to 4% on NSE

Banking shares extend rally for the second straight day, with the Nifty Bank hit a new high of 26,888 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade on Thursday after a strong gain in private sector as well as public sector banks (PSBs).

At 09:38 am; Nifty Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 2% at 26,805 as compared to the benchmark Nifty 50 index. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank index were up 1.4% and 1.9%, respectively.

In past two trading sessions, Nifty PSU Bank index surged 5.6% after the government cut additional borrowing requirement to Rs 200 billion from Rs 500 billion notified earlier, helping ease worries surrounding widening fiscal deficit.

YES Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDFC Bank, Federal Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and Axis Bank from the Nifty Bank index were up in the range of 1% to 4% on NSE.

Among the individual stocks, HDFC Bank hits a new high of Rs 1,945, up 2.9% on NSE. ICICI Bank hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 353, up 3%, extending its 11% surge in past four trading days.  The stock is trading close to its record high of Rs 358, touched on January 28, 2015 in intra-day trade.

In a press release, the finance ministry has now said, “Upon a review of trends of revenue receipts and expenditure pattern, it has been assessed that additional borrowing of only Rs 200.00 billion of government securities would be adequate to meet financing needs.”

The statement said the government did not accept borrowings of Rs 150.00 billion in the last three auctions. The remaining Rs 150.00 billion would be reduced from the notified borrowing programme of the ensuing weeks, it said.

A source in the government that Business Standard spoke to said, “The disinvestment target for the year is expected to overshoot the Budget Estimate by quite a margin. Things are looking up on the direct taxes front as well. The dividend target from state-owned companies will also be met. But there are expectations of a shortfall in the collections from the GST and spectrum sales.”  CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN(%)
DHANLAXMI BANK	30.70	28.90	6.2
J & K BANK	80.00	77.75	2.9
DENA BANK	26.25	25.55	2.7
YES BANK	351.85	342.50	2.7
HDFC BANK	1939.05	1891.10	2.5
SOUTH IND.BANK	32.95	32.15	2.5
INDUSIND BANK	1697.50	1657.00	2.4
PUN. & SIND BANK	49.00	47.95	2.2
BANK OF MAHA	22.00	21.55	2.1
UCO BANK	31.90	31.25	2.1
PUNJAB NATL.BANK	178.75	175.20	2.0
KARUR VYSYA BANK	120.40	118.00	2.0
KARNATAKA BANK	165.25	162.15	1.9
ICICI BANK	349.35	343.10	1.8
ST BK OF INDIA	311.65	306.35	1.7
I O B	23.55	23.15	1.7
CITY UNION BANK	179.00	175.95	1.7
LAK. VILAS BANK	144.00	141.55	1.7
RBL BANK	533.95	525.05	1.7
IDBI BANK	61.80	60.80	1.6