Psbs in focus; nifty psu bank index up 2%

PSBs in focus; Nifty PSU Bank index up 2%

Shares of public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus with the Nifty PSU Bank gaining over 2% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Andhra Bank and IDBI Bank were up more than 3%, while State Bank of

India (SBI), Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were up 1%-3% on NSE. At 02:41 pm; Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1.9% at 3,578 after hitting its high of 3,581 in noon deals. By comparison, Nifty 50, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Sector Bank indices were up less than 1%.

Amid talks of consolidation gaining currency in the Indian banking space, public sector lender Dena Bank's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ashwani Kumar has said the proposed move would bring about several benefits, the Business Standard report suggests.

Consolidation would also benefit banks in their capital requirements and help them better manage non-performing assets (NPAs), he added.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and domestic mutual funds (MFs) have increased their stake in public sector banks (PSBs) in the April - June quarter (Q1FY18), on the expectation that there will be a resolution to the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue.

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ARTICLE SOURCE – BUSINESS STANDARD