Nifty Bank Gains Over 2% In Three Days On HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank Rally
The RBI allowed 11 banks to import both gold and silver in FY25, starting April 1, supporting the rally in banking stocks led by HDFC Bank Ltd.
Nifty Bank rose for the third consecutive session on Monday, climbing more than 2% amid multiple triggers from its constituents.
The Reserve Bank of India updated the list of banks authorised to import silver and gold during the current fiscal. Under the new provisions, 11 banks, including HDFC Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd., have been allowed import the precious metals from April 1 and March 31 next year.
This helped banking stocks gain, led by HDFC Bank Ltd., which rallied 3.4% in the last three days, outperforming the Nifty Bank index.
HDFC Bank also plans to acquire a 100% stake in HDFC Education and Development Services Pvt. through the Swiss Challenge method, which added to the positive sentiment.
Shares of HDFC Bank hit their highest level in nearly two months on Monday.
State Bank of India, Karur Vysya Bank Ltd., Federal Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Yes Bank Ltd., and RBL Bank Ltd. were the other banks authorised by the central bank to import gold and silver in FY25.
While the Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, and Union Bank of India have been authorised to import only gold for fiscal 2025.
Shares of ICICI Bank also rose for the third session, while those of Punjab National Bank and Indian Overseas Bank gained for the second straight trading session.
Bank Credit Growth
Banking credit witnessed strong growth in FY24 and continued to outpace deposit growth during the year, IDBI Capital said in a report.
"Going forward, we expect credit growth to remain in the range of 14–15% (higher base impact) and would be led by higher retail credit growth, coupled with the revival of corporate credit," the brokerage said.
It expects housing sector credit to witness positive growth traction, led by the pausing of the repo rate by the central bank and the strong focus of the government-led affordable housing scheme.
The brokerage firm's top picks in the sector include IndusInd Bank Ltd., ICICI bank and City Union Bank.
Technically, a decisive breach above the 47,000 resistance could propel the (Nifty Bank) index towards the 48,000 level, according to Mandar Bhojane, research analyst at Choice International Ltd.
"Conversely, the immediate support (for Nifty Bank) is around 46,800–46,500. A conclusive drop below this support level, especially on a closing basis, might indicate a false breakout scenario," he said.
At 10:43 a.m., Nifty Bank was trading 0.95% higher at 47,561.15.