Mumbai: The Nifty Bank index, which constitutes 12 leading stocks from the banking sector, on Thursday hit a fresh lifetime high after nearly 10 months. The index gained 1% to hit 41,840.15 in the morning. However, profit booking in banking stocks dragged the index as it settled at 41,209.20. The index has rallied 5.8 per cent so far in September, 25 per cent in three months while 17 per cent in one year.

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Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said that the leadership in the markets shall come from Nifty Bank. He had earlier recommended investing in bank stocks on a positional basis for at least 20-25 per cent returns.

With Nifty Bank hitting a fresh lifetime high, Singhvi said that the rally in banking stocks represents the power of the banking sector and the banking sector represents the power of the economy and the economy represents the power of our nation.

As many as 3 banks including State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and IDFC First Bank hit a fresh 52-week high in today's session. ICICI Bank and SBI surged 2 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. IDFC First Bank was the top gainer as it advanced 3.73 per cent to close at Rs 52.80 apiece. Indian Bank, not a component of Nifty Bank, also reached a new 52-week high as the scrip moved around 1 per cent in intraday deals.

Banking stocks have witnessed a significant surge in investors’ interest due to improvement in fundamentals, buoyant growth outlook, robust balance sheets and sanguine asset quality expectations. Strong buying by FIIs is also a key factor that is advancing the banking stocks and thus the overall markets.