Bank Nifty pares some early gains but stays on the upside, index tops 170 pts; AU Small extends rally; ICICI Bank, Federal Bank among top picks

7 Jan 2022 , 02:39 PM

Bank Nifty stayed steady on Friday's volatile trading session. Although the index erased some major early gains, yet it continued to trade on the green side. Private banks tapped the index to the upside. Major Q3 earnings are being lined up starting next week. Investors take comfort in banks provisional data for Q3 where healthy growth is recorded in both advances and deposits.

At around 2.24 pm, Bank Nifty was trading at 37,661.85 up by 171.60 points or 0.5%. Currently, 9 scrips advanced on the index while 3 scrips declined.

In the early deals, Bank Nifty had crossed over the 38,100-mark as its intraday high is 38,134.85.

AU Small Finance Bank extended gains and continued to stay at the forefront of the bullish basket. The stock rallies nearly 4% after many brokerage houses indicated optimism in the commercial bank's financial books on the back of strong business momentum and robust collection efficiency. Brokerages expect double-digit growth in the stock ahead.

Bandhan Bank jumped 3.6%, while Federal Bank soared 1.5%. ICICI Bank climbed nearly 1%. HDFC Bank was marginally up.

PNB, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank traded flat but in the green zone.

On the contrary, IDFC First Bank was the top laggard tumbling over 1.4% followed by RBL Bank slipping nearly 1%. SBI traded flat but in the red.

HDFC Bank is set to present its Q3 results on January 15, while ICICI Bank is lined up on January 22 and Axis Bank's earnings on January 24.