Banking stocks push Sensex, Nifty to record highs; HDFC Bank, Axis top gainers

Banking stocks helped Sensex and Nifty scale record highs today. While  Sensex ended 445 points higher at 44,523 and Nifty gained 128 points to 13,055. Nifty ended above 13,000 level for the first time ever. During the session, Sensex hit a lifetime high of 44,601 and Nifty touched record high of 13,079. Bank Nifty ended 713 points or 2.46% higher at Rs 29,737.

On Bank Nifty, 11 out of 12 components ended in green. Top gainers on the index were RBL Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank rising up to 6.47%. Bank of Baroda share closed 0.11% to Rs 46.85 on the index. However, Bank Nifty index  is still down 7.54% since the beginning of this year.

Similarly, BSE bankex ended 791 points or 2.37% higher at 34,138. All 10 BSE bankex stocks ended in green. Top gainers on the index were RBL Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank rising up to 6.47%. However, the BSE bankex index is still down 6.91% since the beginning of this year.

All Nifty sub-indexes ended higher, with banks leading the pack. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the top two boosts to the Nifty 50, rising 3.14% and 4.02%, respectively.

Nifty closes above 13K for first time, Sensex at record high; M&M, ITC, SBI top gainers

HDFC Bank share hit all time high today after CLSA raised target price for the stock to Rs 1700. The large cap share rose 2.95% intra day to Rs 1436 against previous close of Rs 1,394.85 on BSE. Brokerage CLSA maintained "buy" call on the stock with a target price of Rs 1700 against the previous target of Rs 1525.

The research firm said the macro- environment has improved after lockdown, adding that the better use of data analytics is leading to lower retail stress against PAT cycles. CLSA said that in the medium term, opex efficiency still has room to improve, terming the private bank as one of its top picks.

Another financial gainer Axis Bank ended 4.02% higher at Rs 619.55 on BSE.

Axis Bank share price gained after Jefferies retained buy on the stock. The global research firm retained buy call and raised target price to Rs 700 from Rs 610 per share.

Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst, Technical and Derivatives at Angel Broking said, "Now, next immediate levels to watch out for would be at 13100-13200. Today's up move was mainly propelled by the financial stocks as we saw banking index inching closer to its milestone of 30,000. The undertone remains bullish but as a momentum trader, taking some money off the table should be considered as a healthy practice. The support base now shifts higher around 12800-12730; before which, intraday supports are at 12980-12900 for the coming session."