Bank Nifty surges over 500 points

ICICI Bank, PNB, BoB, Canara Bank, Union Bank, YES Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and BOI are up 3-4% on the NSE.

Banking shares continue at their upward march, trading higher by up to 5% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the rupee opened with a gap up of 56 paise at 60.86 per dollar on Monday against 61.42 on Friday.

The NSE banking share index Bank Nifty was the largest gainer, up 506 points at 12,226 in early morning deals compared to 156 points rise in the benchmark CNX Nifty.

The rupee rose to as high as 61.85 against the dollar, its strongest level since August 5 after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) breezed through in three of the four states that went to polls.

Among the individual stocks, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank have rallied 5% each, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, YES Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of India are up 3-4%, while State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank are up 2% each.