Banks gain; Nifty Bank index up 2%

IndusInd Bank, South Indian Bank, YES Bank, Federal Bank, BOB, SBI and ICICI Bank were up 2% to 6%.

Bank shares were in focus and trading higher by up to 5% on the bourses after banking major IndusInd Bank reported strong set of numbers in December quarter despite demonetisation of high-value currency notes.

IndusInd Bank, the largest gainer among banking stocks, has rallied 6% to Rs 1,231 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after reporting a healthy 29% year on year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 751 crore in Q3FY17 against Rs 581 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

South Indian Bank was up 5% to Rs 21.85 after the bank on Wednesday reported