Extending its gains for the third straight session, the country's top lender SBI today surged by over 3 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange, buoyed by the lender's better-than-expected third quarter earning numbers.
The scrip climbed 3.66 per cent, the best among 30 Sensex stocks, to close at Rs 2,693.10. In intra-day session, SBI gained 4.12 per cent to hit a high of Rs 2,705.
In the last three trading sessions, the stock has advanced by over 7 per cent on the BSE.
On the National Stock Exchange, the stock settled at Rs 2687.10, up 3.47 per cent.
Boosted by a smart rise in net interest income, SBI had reported a 14.08 per cent increase in profit for the October-December, 2010 quarter to Rs 2,828 crore.
"The numbers were above our expectations. The kind of performance SBI has displayed has surprised the street in a positive way. It has also uplifted investors' confidence in banking stocks," Unicon Financial Services CEO Gajendra Nagpal said.
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The stock was also the volume buzzer, as over 43 lakh shares of the company were traded on the two bourses.
The uptrend in SBI shares was also instrumental in helping the BSE benchmark index Sensex close the day with a gain of 143.75 points at 19,151.28.