The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), on Monday closed 3.27 per cent higher after leading foreign brokerages upgraded the stock to a ‘buy’ rating.
CLSA and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch have upgraded the stock to ‘buy’, citing asset quality improvements and recent under-performance in shares. Macquarie also raised its ratings to ‘neutral’, saying SBI was already the most expensive Indian public sector bank, trading at a 20 per cent premium to its peers.
The stock had gained five per cent on Friday, after posting better-than-expected fourth quarter results. The shares had dropped 13.6 per cent this month as of Thursday’s close, the day before its earnings announcement, versus a 7.2 per cent fall in the NSE index in the same period.
