Bankex on a song

The banking counters are on a song riding on the optimism displayed by the Asian markets, which had a contagion effect on the Indian bourses, on hopes that the European Union leaders would hammer out a solution, even if temporary, to their economic woes.

The Bankex was the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices in the morning trade though the BSE Sensex itself had surged by over 300 points.

What has held out hopes of some solution to tackle the European crisis was the softening of the stand of the Germany on austerity measures and willingness to provide access to Europe’s bailout fund, apart from steps to establish a banking union and an European Treasury, according to media reports.

All the 14 Bankex stocks were in the green with major gainers being Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank.

Axis Bank again moved over the Rs 1,000-mark, gaining Rs 30.65 to trade at Rs 1,001.65. HDFC Bank was up by Rs 12.75 at Rs 559.75, ICICI Bank surged by Rs 26.05 to Rs 882.55, PNB moved up to Rs 808.10, a gain of Rs 20.10 and SBI was trading at Rs 2,140.10, a gain of Rs 44.65.

The market buoyancy was probably aided by what was coming from the Central Government on the Vodafone tax issue - that it may go slow on the tax demand etc. But whether the optimism would last remains to be seen.

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