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