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Nifty Bank surged nearly 10,000 points from its March 2025 lows to hit a fresh all-time high of 57,651.30 on Friday
Bank Nifty
Bank Nifty At Record High: Nifty Bank surged nearly 10,000 points from its March 2025 lows to hit a fresh all-time high of 57,651.30 on Friday, surpassing its previous record of 57,628.40 set on July 2, 2025.
The 12-stock banking index gained 229 points in the morning session, led by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, crossing its earlier record. So far in 2025, Nifty Bank has outperformed the broader Nifty, rising over 13% compared with less than 9% gains for the headline index. Among major sectoral indices, Nifty IT remains the laggard, down about 19% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, the broader Nifty touched a fresh 52-week high above 25,700, though it remains roughly 570 points below its all-time peak of 26,277 set on September 27, 2024.
HDFC Bank, the heaviest-weighted stock in the banking index, has risen about 13% in 2025 so far, outperforming ICICI Bank’s 11% gain. Amid easing financial conditions and regulatory support aimed at boosting credit flow, Goldman Sachs expects Nifty Bank to continue outperforming both the broader market and the Nifty in the near term.
The RBI has already cut policy rates by 100 basis points in 2025, with the Street anticipating another reduction later this year. Goldman Sachs’ Santanu Sengupta noted that, given typical transmission lags and stabilizing asset quality, credit growth is likely to recover from the second half of FY26. He added that upcoming capital‑easing measures in 2027 and proposed easier offshore borrowing norms could further support private sector credit growth over the next two years.
Entering the Q2 results season, market expectations are low, creating potential upside if earnings surprise positively. Sengupta highlighted that consensus EPS growth is expected to decelerate to 1% YoY for financials and -3% YoY for banks—the slowest since Covid—with a historically low bar to beat. EPS cuts have been the steepest in five years due to concerns around credit growth, credit costs, and asset repricing amid rate cuts.
He further noted that domestic funds remain underexposed to financials, while foreign investors have sold $9 billion since last year. “With strong consensus growth expectations of 15% in CY26E and mid-cycle valuations at 17x, financials look attractive at a 1.1x PEG ratio (vs. MSCI India at 1.5x). With financials trading at a 22% discount to the MSCI India index (-1.5 SD), the current risk-reward appears favorable,” Sengupta said.
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More
October 17, 2025, 12:35 IST
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