Bank Nifty up for Eighth Consecutive Session; Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank Hit Three-Year High

Banking stocks reported significant gains on March 24 as Nifty Bank Index clocked in green for the eighth consecutive session. The bank index was up by 2% at 51,621 in the morning trade, the highest since January when it crossed the 51,500-mark.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank went up by 4% to trade at ₹2,172 apiece. Notably, this is the highest level of gain witnessed by the stock in three years. The surge can be attributed to the bank's decision to appoint Bhavnish Lathia as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), along with other high-level appointments. The stock is currently the top gainer on the Nifty 50 as well as Sensex.

Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank went up by 2.6% each. Shares of Canara Bank were trading at ₹89.85 apiece. LKP Securities analyst Rupak De has kept a ‘Buy’ call on the stock by setting a target price of ₹97 per share. This indicates an upside potential of nearly 11% from the stock’s previous closing price. After hitting a 52-week low of ₹78.60 per share on March 3, the stock has seen strong recovery.

Axis Bank jumped by over 2% to trade at ₹1,094 apiece. Federal Bank, IDFC First Bank and Bank of Baroda shares soared up by 2%.

Global brokerage firm Citi has kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares of ICICI Bank, with a target price of Rs 1,600 apiece.

Meanwhile, shares of State Bank of India and HDFC Bank reported significant gains. SBI shares were up by 1.7% at ₹766 apiece, while HDFC Bank shares went up by 1.3% at ₹1,795 apiece.

Citi has kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares of ICICI Bank, with a target price of ₹1,600 apiece. The bank stock has now hit an all-time high of ₹1,367 apiece.

IndusInd Bank shares traded with marginal losses at ₹686 apiece. The stock has taken a hit in the recent weeks amid accounting lapses in its derivative portfolio.

“On the weekly chart, a double bottom pattern is nearing a breakout, indicating a potential bullish reversal. As long as it holds 50,600, sentiment remains bullish. Resistance is at 51,750, while support lies at 50,000 and 49,700, with 49,000 acting as a crucial breakdown level,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst, Choice Broking during pre-market trading.

Market veteran Ramesh Damani has predicted strong hopes for the market. “The bull market has resumed,” he said while speaking to CNBC-TV18. “What we saw over last 5 months was just a correction in a bull market, not topping of the bull market. It was just a normal market correction based on valuations.”

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