SBI up 5.5 pc; adds Rs 11,325 cr to market cap on healthy nos

Shares of State Bank of India today surged over 5.5 per cent, making investors richer by Rs 11,325 crore, on the back of the firm reporting 31 per cent jump in September quarter profit and an improvement in asset quality.
After rising 5.79 per cent to its 52-week high of Rs 2,950 on the BSE, shares of SBI finally ended at Rs 2,940.15, a gain of 5.44 per cent from their previous close.
At the NSE, the stock settled 5.53 per cent higher at Rs 2,942.
Following the rally in the stock, SBI's market capitalisation moved up by Rs 11,325.69 crore to Rs 2,19,503.69 crore.

The stock was the top gainer among the blue-chips on both Sensex and Nifty.
At the volume front, 7.24 lakh shares were traded at the BSE, while over 49 lakh shares changed hands at the NSE during the day.

SBI's stock had already gained over 2 per cent on Friday.
"SBI's asset quality with respect to weak assets was stable with Q2 gross NPA at 4.89 per cent v/s 4.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter. At the same time, net profit of State Bank of India jumped to Rs 3,100 crore in the quarter ended September 30," said Hiren Dhakan, Associate Fund manager, Bonanza Portfolio.

The bank had reported a profit after tax of Rs 2,375 crore in the year-ago period.
"We are pleased to see State Bank of India leveraging its strong retail liability franchise to grow its fee revenue," said Suruchi Jain, Equity Research Analyst, Morningstar India.
During the second quarter of 2015, State Bank of India's non-interest, or fee-based, revenue grew by 58 per cent on a consolidated basis, she added.
The bank's total interest income grew 9.85 per cent to Rs 37,263 crore from Rs 33,922 crore in the same period a year ago. Net interest income increased by 8.36 per cent to Rs 13,275 crore in the quarter from Rs 12,251 crore in the same period last year.

The bank saw improvement in the asset quality with Net NPA improving to 2.73 per cent from 2.91 per cent in the same period last year.