The Hindu Business Line : Bank stocks lead bull charge

STOCK prices led by bank shares rebounded during the latter part of the session, following announcements from the Union Government offering greater autonomy to public sector banks.

The mood of the market, which was lacklustre in the first four hours of trading, changed suddenly after the announcement was made during the trading hours.

The announcement gave fillip to stock prices, pushing the Sensex by 54.73 points (0.84 per cent) to close at 6589.41. On the NSE, S&P CNX Nifty gained 15.20 points ( 0.74 per cent) to end at 2,058.40. Brokers said the Government's announcement of banking sector reforms ahead of the Finance Bill 2005/2006 indicates that reforms in other sectors are likely to be announced in the Union Budget.

The market players also saw the smooth passage of the derivatives contract as positive. The expiry of derivatives contract is on Thursday. Stock prices had remained sluggish in the last few trading sessions, as brokers were avoiding fresh positions ahead of the Budget.

The major action in Tuesday's trading was seen in public sector banks that witnessed buying across the board. Active interest in bank stocks was seen from the rise in the BSE Bankex Index by 1.60 per cent, the highest gain among all the sectoral indices of the exchange.

The upturn in bank stocks was led by SBI, which gained three per cent to close at Rs 680.75. Shares of other public sector banks also moved up. These included Bank of India, Union Bank, Vijaya Bank and UCO Bank. However, PNB and OBC stocks did not gain much, as these banks' public issues are likely to hit the primary market soon. There was not much buying interest in private sector banks, with the stock prices of major banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank remaining almost flat.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Sourcing from third countries — India, Pak can import from each other: Kamal Nath

Manhattan NRI Chatwal plans Dream hotels here

Finance Ministry defends MRP-based excise on drugs

Mallya to make open offer for 25 pc of SWC at Rs 250/share

Govt clears autonomy package for PSU banks

Bank stocks lead bull charge

Contributions to The Hindu Relief Fund