HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank to Axis Bank: Why are banking shares rising in stock market today?

Stock market today: After the better-than-expected business updates from the private banks and rate cut buzz in the RBI Monetary Policy meeting, banking stocks witnessed strong buying during the relief rally in the Indian stock market. This helped the Nifty Bank Index outperform the other two frontline indices by a considerable margin. The Nifty Bank Index logged around 1.15% rise, whereas the Nifty 50 index went up 0.52%, and the BSE Sensex rose by around 0.35%. Nifty Bank heavyweight HDFC Bank share price ascended around 1.90% while Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, and State Bank of India (SBI) registered over one per cent rise during Tuesday deals.

According to stock market experts, the rally in Indian banking stocks is due to two major reasons: a better Q2FY25 business update and the interest rate cut buzz in the RBI MPC meeting. Regarding banking stocks to buy today, they advised buying these two shares: ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

RBI MPC meeting in focus

On the reasons fueling banking stocks in the stock market today, Seema Srivastava, Senior Equity Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, said, “Banking stocks are rising due to two major reasons: the better-than-expected Q2FY25 business update by the listed banking companies and the rate cut buzz in the RBI MPC meeting. This has sparked demand in the private sector banking stocks, which include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, etc.”

Highlighting the reason for the rate cut buzz regarding the RBI Monetary Policy meeting, Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investment and Securities, said, "After the announcement of the US Fed rate cut in the Jackson Hole Symposium held in September, the market is expecting the follow-up from the Indian Central Bank. We are expecting a 25 bps rate cut, which is also a reason for rising stock prices of the private sector banks."

Stocks to buy today

Asked about the private bank stocks that one can buy today, Seema Srivastava of SMC Global Securities said, "One can buy ICICI Bank and Axis Bank shares in the current market scenario."

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.