Mid-cap shares outpeform benchmark share indices

Mid-cap PSU banks are among the top gainers

Mid-cap shares have firmed up in today's as investors booked profit in large caps and turned focus in fundamentally sound mid-cap shares.

At 2:45PM, the 30-share Sensex was down nearly 1% while the BSE Mid-cap index was up 1.4% while on the National Stock Exchange, the 50-share Nifty was down 0.6% while the CNX Mid-cap index was up 1.1%.

The gains among mid-cap shares were led by public sector banks after some of them reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013.

"PSU banks have gained after better-than-expected second quarter earnings and investors are looking for value as most of them are available at attractive valuations," said Ambareesh Baliga, Managing Partner, Global Wealth Management, Edelweiss Financial Services.

Our top picks in the PSU Mid-cap segment are Dena Bank and Syndicate Bank, he added.

Top PSU mid-cap gainers on the BSE include, United Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Central Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Dena Bank among others.

"Most of the mid-caps did not participate in the recent rally and hence are moving higher while large-caps taking a breather," says Alex Mathews, Head of Research at Geojit BNP Paribas.  

Besides PSU mid-cap bank shares other gainers include, IRB Infra, Torrent Power, Shriram City Union, Jubilant Food Works and India Cements among others on the BSE.