PSU banks in demand; CXN PSU Bank index surges over 3%

Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank, Canara Bank, BOI, Union Bank and Syndicate Bank have surged over 5% each on NSE.

Shares of state-owned banks are in demand and have rallied by up to 8% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India have surged more than 5% each.

Andhra Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, IDBI Bank and State Bank of India are up 2-4% on NSE.

The NSE CNX PSU Bank, a gauge for PSU banks, is the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices, up 3.5% compared to 1.1% rise in the benchmark CNX Nifty at 1200 hours.

According to Mint reports, the government is likely to take a decision on a proposal to create a holding company structure for public sector banks before the Budget and a road map for this is likely to be announced in the budget.

Among the individual stocks, Allahabad Bank has surged 8% to Rs 143, followed by Syndicate Bank (7% at Rs 169), Oriental Bank of Commerce and Union Bank of India (6% each at Rs 330 and Rs 240 respectively).