SBI scrip touches all-time high

The State Bank of India scrip touched an all-time high of Rs 604 in intra-day trades on Monday, before closing at Rs 601.25, up 5.99 per cent over Friday's close.

More than 3.07 million SBI shares were traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. Foreign institutional investors and domestic funds were said to be accumulating the SBI stock in anticipation of a strong performance and hopes that the cap on foreign institutional investment in PSU banks would be raised, market sources said.

The SBI scrip price has surged in the past few months on increased buying interest. The bank is said to be targeting a deposit and advances growth of 18 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, for 2003-04. It also hopes to bring down its net non-performing assets to less than 3 per cent of its total assets by 2005.