PSU banks on fire as PNB, BoB among 6 stocks at fresh 52-week high: What next for Nifty Bank after today's record high?

Nifty Bank At Record High, BoB Share Price Target 2022, PNB Share Price Target 2022: Public sector bank stocks gained for the eighth straight day on Thursday, November 24 in tandem with the benchmark indices -- Sensex, Nifty50, Nifty Bank -- hitting a fresh closing lifetime high. The strong buying in PSU bank stocks lifted the Nifty Bank index, comprising 12 stocks, to close at a new high of 43,075. From the Nifty PSU Bank index, as many as six stocks hit a fresh 52-week high price in today's session -- Union Bank Rs 79.20, Bank of India Rs 83.25, Bank of Baroda at Rs 171.90, Canara Bank Rs 329.75, PNB Rs 51.20 and Indian Bank Rs 280.85.

State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the country, ended the session at Rs 609.60, gaining 0.32 per cent. The counter is just 2 per cent away from its fresh 52-week high of Rs 622.70 (November 7).

Going by the data, Nifty PSU Bank index has gained more than 6 per cent in the last 5 sessions and 18 per cent in one month. In the 6 months, the index has rallied more than 60 per cent.

Ajit Kabi, banking analyst at LKP Securities, said that PSU banks were trading at attractive valuations for a long time. The government-owned banks lagged on asset quality and growth fronts compared to private peers are no longer saddled with bad loans.

"The large public banks have delivered strong growth and improvement in credit quality. Therefore, PSU banks are likely to perform well in mid-run. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank are top picks in PSU space," he said.

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Nifty Bank Technical View

Kunal Shah, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said that bulls were able to break the resistance zone of 42,600-42,800 on the last day of November expiry. 

"It has witnessed a fresh breakout on the daily chart, pushing it higher towards the level of 44,000 in the near term. The lower-end support is now visible at 42,600 which will act as a cushion for the bulls. The broader participation will resume in markets helping it to scale on the higher end," he said.

BoB, SBI Share Price Targets 

Meanwhile, LKP Securities in its report on Bank of Baroda said that the government-owned bank has delivered an expected result on the operating and assets quality front in the second quarter of FY23. It has given a Buy call with a price target of Rs 202. 

SBI is also poised for a big upside move with HDFC Securities giving a price target of Rs 700 and LKP Rs 718 apiece.

The rise in banks is also enabling the performance of Nifty50. The benchmark index today gained 216.85 points or 1.19 per cent to end at an all-time high of 18,484.10. During the day, it hit its 52-week high of 18,529.70, higher by 262.45 points or 1.43 per cent. In the past one month, Nifty50 has advanced 4.69 per cent and more than 15 per cent in 6 months.

The 30-share BSE Sensex index today jumped 762.10 points to a new record closing high of 62,272.68.

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Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said that indices witnessed solid gains as investors digested the latest FOMC meeting minutes, which hinted that the rate hike cycle may be slowing down. The optimism was further boosted by falling crude prices and the declining dollar index. Crude oil prices dropped over talks of a possible price cap on Russian oil and a rise in US product stockpiles.