CNX Bank Nifty on a roller coaster ride

The CNX Bank Nifty, which put up a brave show immediately after RBI Governor left the key rates untouched, appears to be wilting with four of the Bank Nifty constituents declining to new 52-week lows around 11.40 a.m.

What was surprising was that SBI, which had kept a positive posture since morning, crashed to a new 52-week low after D. Subbarao announced that the key rates would not be disturbed for now.

Axis Bank continued to maintain a positive stance, gaining the highest of Rs 18.15 to trade at Rs 1,116.40. ICICI Bank was up by Rs 5.85 to Rs 943.45 and YES Bank was up by Rs 5.05 at Rs 368.50. The other gainer was HDFC Bank but it was only marginal.

State Bank of India fell to a new low of Rs 1,718.35 before pulling back to Rs 1,735, Union Bank of India dipped to a new yearly low of Rs 129.10 before recovering to Rs 130.30, BoI touched a new low of Rs 178 before recovering to Rs 179.65 and PNB fell to a new low of Rs 569.20 before moving up to Rs 574.35.

Though initially the markets seemed to take heart from the assurance of Subbarao that the belt tightening measures the apex bank had introduced recently were temporary and would be rolled back in a calibrated manner once the rupee stabilises, later the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty flew into the red.

The rupee, which was trading around Rs 59.57/ US dollar before the RBI announcement slipped to Rs 59.84 by 11.50 a.m. The Bank Nifty, which was up by 95 points around 11.15 a.m., saw its gains pared by about 70 points 20 minutes later. But shortly before noon, the Bank Nifty was in the red, down by nearly 30 points.