Bankex gains on SBI nos

Weekly review

Banking stocks outperformed the Sensex this week with gains of over 3%.

Banking stocks jumped as most of them declared better-than-expected Q1 earnings. BSE Bankex gained 3.4% (403 points) in the week to end at 12,196.

BSE benchmark index ended almost flat at 18,167 - up 23 points from the previous week.

Several public sector banks (PSU) touched all time highs this week as PSU major, State Bank of India (SBI) announced its quarterly numbers.

The trading sentiment in banking shares changed after SBI posted a jump of 25% in net profit for the April-June quarter to Rs 2,914 crore, compared to Rs 2,330 crore in the same period a year-ago. More than 30 banks (both public and private sector) have posted an increase of more than 25% in their net profit this quarter.

The bankex opened at 11,799 and touched a low of 11,729 on Thursday. However, the index recovered smartly in Friday's trades and surged to a high of 12,238. The index is just 3.8% away from its all-time high of 12,679.

SBI was the biggest gainer among all banking stocks and soared nearly 9% to Rs 2,849. The stock soared to its highest on Friday at Rs 2,880.

Index heavyweight, ICICI Bank added 2.5% to Rs 975. However, HDFC Bank bucked the general trend and slipped marginally to Rs 2,087.

Indus Ind Bank and Yes Bank rallied 8% each to Rs 223 and Rs 320, respectively.

Bank of India added 6.5% to Rs 463. Canara Bank, Union Bank and Punjab National Bank gained 3-5% each.

Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDBI Bank and Axis Bank were the other gainers in the sector.