PSBs gain; SBI, PNB, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India up 3%

At 11:49 AM; Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 3% at 3,854, bouncing back 7.4% from its intra-day low of 3,587 on the NSE.

Shares of public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus with the Nifty PSU bank index rallying more than 7% from its early morning lows on National Stock Exchange (NSE).

At 11:49 AM; Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 3% at 3,854 as compared to 0.81% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 index. Nifty PSU Bank index has rallied 7.4% from its early morning low of 3,587. Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Bank index were up 1% each.

State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank up in the range of 3% to 5%, while Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Bank, Allahabad Bank and Andhra Bank up 2% each.

The government should bring down its stake in PSBs to 33% in the next three years as it plans to recapitalise banks to strengthen NPA-hit lenders, industry body CII said.

In October, the government had unveiled an unprecedented Rs 2.11 lakh crore two-year road map for strengthening NPA-hit public sector banks, which includes re-capitalisation bonds, budgetary support, and equity dilution.

"...Over the next 2-3 years, the Government could consider bringing down its stake in most PSBs to 33%. It could retain a larger share in the SBI in order to meet priority needs. The off-loading of stake may be in the form of preference shares instead of equity shares to maintain the majority voting rights with the Government with nil transference to the investors,” the industry body said in a statement, the PTI report suggested. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

BANK	DAY'S LOW(RS)	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	LATEST(RS)	RISE(%)
INDIAN BANK	356.00	395.95	394.60	10.8
PUNJAB NATL.BANK	162.30	180.65	179.45	10.6
UNION BANK (I)	140.45	155.20	153.95	9.6
BANK OF BARODA	155.00	170.60	169.45	9.3
BANK OF INDIA	168.00	183.20	182.60	8.7
CANARA BANK	340.60	368.00	367.00	7.8
ALLAHABAD BANK	69.40	74.85	74.60	7.5
VIJAYA BANK	66.50	71.90	71.10	6.9
ST BK OF INDIA	301.00	323.00	320.75	6.6
ORIENTAL BANK	115.80	123.90	123.30	6.5
SYNDICATE BANK	81.10	86.95	86.25	6.4
CENTRAL BANK	74.00	79.75	78.60	6.2
ANDHRA BANK	57.40	60.65	60.60	5.6
BANK OF MAHA	20.80	21.90	21.75	4.6
J & K BANK	71.65	74.75	74.60	4.1
IDBI BANK	56.80	59.00	58.95	3.8
I O B	22.25	23.00	22.90	2.9
DENA BANK	23.70	24.40	24.30	2.5
UCO BANK	29.05	30.15	29.75	2.4
UNITED BANK (I)	16.90	17.30	17.30	2.4