Lenders extend gains to take Nifty Bank higher by 10% in April as FIIs return this month

A weaker dollar and fall in crude oil prices has prompted FIIs to return to Indian equities, with some banking shares with high foreign holding seeing steady gains in recent days.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Private as well as PSU banking shares are higher in early trade on April 29, with the leading names on the index - ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank - supporting early gains, while SBI along with midcap lenders UCO Bank, Central Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank following in tow.

For the month, the Nifty Bank index has gained nearly 10 percent in a sharp rebound, outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50 index in April, as foreign investors resumed buying in April.

Almost all components of the BSE PSU Bank index is holding firm with steady gains, helping the index higher by 1.7 percent in early trade, though it gauge has cooled off from initial highs. The banking pack has the highest weightage in the benchmark indices.

Nifty Bank index is higher by 0.7 percent in early trade to hold above 55,800. A technical indicator note by Choice Broking said the charts of Bank Nifty indicate it may get support at 55,300, followed by 55,000 and 54,700, citing a level of 56,200 as one of the initial key resistances. Kotak Securities' Head of Equities Shrikant Chouhan sees the Bank Nifty index in the broader trading range of 56,000 and 55,000.

Top Movers in April

So far in April, IndusInd Bank and AU Small Finance have been standout gainers, rising 29 percent and 32 percent respectively. Shares of IDFC First Bank are higher by 21 percent so far this month followed by Bank of Baroda which is higher by 12 percent. On Nifty PSU Bank index, Canara Bank and BoB are the top gainers this month, followed by Bank of India, which is higher by 10.5 percent.

A weaker dollar and fall in crude oil prices have prompted FIIs to return to Indian equities, with some banking shares with high foreign holding seeing steady gains in recent days. FIIs have turned net buyers into Indian equities for the month of April after a nine-session buying steak. With the latest inflow, FIIs have now turned net buyers for April, reversing earlier heavy selling of nearly Rs 35,000 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained positive, buying shares worth Rs 2,817 crore for the second consecutive session.

One note by S&P Global Market Intelligence recently said that during the March quarter, the biggest market capitalisation erosion in the banking space saw seven PSU lenders fall the most among the 12 top Indian banks.

In-line quarterly earnings by most lenders have supported the Bank Nifty this month, sending the index higher by over 9 percent in April. Street estimates were factoring in subdued profit growth for FY25, according to a report by IIFL Capital.

The BFSI sector has seen a growth of over 50 times in two decades, taking the market capitalisation of the sector higher by more than 50 times to Rs 91 lakh crore in 2025, helped by NBFCs and fintech players.

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