“Select low value public sector bank stocks are surging on expectations of privatisation after the announcement in the Union Budget," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
Explore Now Shares of
Indian Overseas Bank (up 19.75 per cent), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 18.78 per cent),
Bank of Baroda (up 13.18 per cent) and Union Bank of India (up 11.81 per cent) were among the top gainers. The Nifty PSU Bank index was trading 5.98 per cent up at 2597.5 around 01:33PM. Benchmark NSE Nifty50 index was down -108.95 points at 15099.95, while the BSE Sensex was down -448.34 points at 51255.49. Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 23 were trading in the green, while 27 were in the red. Shares of PNB, Bank of Baroda, Vodafone Idea, Central Bank Ind and YES Bank were among the most traded shares on the NSE.
A Reuters report suggested that the government has shortlisted these banks for privatisation, under a new push to sell state assets and shore up government revenues.
Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra shares rallied as much as 20 per cent for the second day on reports that the government has shortlisted the four banks for privatisation