IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank shares gain up to 5%, Bank Nifty trades in green after 2 days

Bank stocks

Bank stocks recorded strong gains on March 12, pushing the Nifty Bank into green. The bank index has now broken its 2-day losing streak, despite the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty recording losses.

IndusInd Bank shares were the top gainers on the index, rising over 5 percent to trade at Rs 693 apiece. The stock has snapped its 5-day losing streak. Notably, the rise in the share price comes a day after the stock crashed 27 percent after the bank reported discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio. The bank said the issue was estimated to impact 2.35 percent of its net worth.

However, the bank's management issued very optimistic views later, which may have boosted investors' confidence. Its CEO Sumant Kathpalia said the bank is likely to absorb the losses in the ongoing quarter itself. "The full year won't be a loss at all. And I think Q4 will also be in profit...The bank will start seeing great profitability from Q1," he said while speaking to CNBC-TV18.

The uptick in the share price comes as the stock sees strong buying interest from investors by trading at a volume nearly 4 times higher than its 10-day average volumes.

The shares of heavyweight HDFC Bank also recorded strong gains, rising nearly 2 percent to trade at Rs 1,712 apiece. The stock has now snapped its 3-day losing streak to trade in the green. The rise in the bank's stock was the top contributor to Nifty Bank's rise. The stock is currently hovering near its 52-week high of Rs 1,880 per share.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares jumped over 2 percent to trade at Rs 1,982 apiece. Earlier in the day, the stock jumped further to hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,998 per share. It is currently significantly higher than its 52-week low of Rs 1,544 per share.

While the three bank stocks kept the bank index in the green, some of their peers were trading in the red with strong losses. AU Small Finance Bank shares were down over 3 percent to trade at Rs 506 apiece. The stock has now tumbled over 8 percent in 4 days.

Punjab National Bank (PNB), Axis Bank and IDFC First Bank were down over 2 percent each. Canara Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) fell over 1 percent each, while Federal Bank, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda were trading with marginal losses.

The negative returns seen by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI were the top draggers in the index.

"The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 47,700 followed by 47,400 and 47,000. If the index advances further, 48,000 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 48,300 and 48,500," said Hardik Matalia, derivative analyst at Choice Broking.