Bank Nifty bounces back as RBI limits repo rate hike to 25 bps

Bank stocks have bounced back with the CNX Bank Nifty gaining about 160 points an hour after the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's announcement of raising repo rate by 25 basis points that was largely factored in by the market.

What probably breathed fresh life into bank stocks was that the apex bank Governor did not take a more hawkish stance by raising repo rate by 50 basis points in an attempt to tame inflation.

Of the 12 Bank Nifty stocks, only Bank of India was in the red, albeit marginally. The main gainers in terms of value were Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI.

BoB was up by Rs 16.30 at Rs 585.45, SBI gained Rs 18.50 to trade at Rs 1,693.90, Axis Bank jumped Rs 31.10 at Rs 1,222.60, ICICI Bank was quoting at Rs 1,039.55, a gain of Rs 24.55, Yes Bank moved up by Rs 9.35 to Rs 356.75, PNB gained Rs 10 to trade at Rs 489.90 and IndusInd Bank was up by Rs 9.45 to trade at Rs 421.70.

However Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank made only marginal gains. BoI was the lone loser, down by 60 paise at Rs 176.05.

The CNX Bank Nifty made a big splash, gaining about 163 points around 12 noon.