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Nifty Bank scales record high with 12% gains; SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak make up 60% of index value

Three stocks including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank accounted for over 60 percent of the increase in the Nifty Bank’s market capitalisation over the past two months

May 30, 2023 / 07:24 AM IST
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The Nifty Bank index scaled a record high on May 29 as investors continued buying bank stocks following better-than-expected March quarter earnings. The index gained over 12 percent in the last two months.

Three stocks - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank - accounted for over 60 percent of the increase in the Nifty Bank’s market capitalisation over the past two months.

Both the Sensex and the Nifty climbed over 10 percent during this period. The rally that started on March 28 was largely due to buying by foreign investors amid macroeconomic improvements. During this time, the market cap of the top three banking stocks – State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank - together increased by Rs 1.8 lakh crore, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the gains in the Nifty Bank’s market cap.

The next three bank stocks - Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Indusind Bank - together contributed over 22 percent to the up-move.

State Bank of India (SBI) jumped 16 percent, ICICI Bank 12 percent and Kotak Mahindra Bank advanced 15 percent from March 28. Axis Bank gained 12 percent, HDFC Bank 3.3 percent and Indusind Bank jumped 24 percent.

SBI has announced a remarkable increase in net profit, driven by robust loan demand and a decline in provisions, reflecting improved asset quality during the March quarter. The bank witnessed an impressive surge of 83 percent in net profit, reaching Rs 16,695 crore. SBI achieved a milestone by surpassing the Rs 50,000-crore mark for net profit in the fiscal year 2023, becoming the first bank in India to achieve such an annual profit level.

ICICI Bank continued its strong earnings in the March quarter. The lender reported healthy net interest income and profit growth despite additional provisions. Its non-performing asset ratio also improved. Kotak Mahindra Bank share gained on the expectations that its weightage in the MSCI index could double to 2.68 percent from 1.38 percent leading to potential inflows of $800 million, according to Nuvama Research. The rejig is scheduled on May 31.

The Nifty PSU Bank also rallied 13 percent, while Bankex index jumped 12 percent. The rally was due to better than expected earnings by most of the banks.

Except Yes Bank, which reported 45 percent YoY decline in net profit, Bandhan Bank, with 57 percent decline in net profit, and Axis Bank, with reported loss for the quarter, all listed banks have posted handsome profit. Four public sector banks reported over 100 percent jump in net profit compared to a year ago.

These include Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab National Bank. Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, State Bank of India, UCO Bank and Union Bank reported over 80 percent jump in its net profit on-year.

The scene is no different in the private banking space. IDFC First Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and Karnataka Bank reported 134 percent, 324 percent and 171 percent jump in net profit for the March quarter. Smaller banks such as Dhanlaxmi Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and Federal Bank reported over 60 percent jump in net profit.

The main contributing factors to the record profits are higher net interest income, rise in other income which includes income from treasury and lower provisions for bad assets.

In absolute terms, except HDFC Bank, Indusind bank, Karnataka Bank, South India Bank and Federal Bank, all other reported a decline in gross non-performing assets. Overall, the private bank's gross NPAs are little over Rs 1.27 trillion, down 31 percent from a year ago. For PSU banks, it was at over Rs5.55 trillion, down 24 percent a year ago.

According to a recent statement by S&P Global Ratings, the profitability of the Indian banking sector is expected to stabilise at a robust level, while there will be continued improvement in asset quality.

"Indian banks' earnings will likely remain healthy. The sector has improved substantially in the past seven years, from a period when many public-sector lenders were grappling with bad loans," S&P Global Ratings said in its note.

S&P Global Ratings has highlighted that the Indian banking sector is experiencing a strong recovery, with lenders recently reporting their best results in 10 years. The rating agency anticipates that the profitability of the sector will stabilise at a healthy level, and banks will continue to witness improvements in asset quality.

The positive trend in Indian banking profitability is attributed to higher net interest margins and reduced credit costs.

Ravindra Sonavane

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