Market Now: Private bank stocks up; Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank advance 1%

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Most of the private bank stocks were trading with gains during the early trade on Friday. The Nifty Private Bank index was
trading 0.63 per cent up at 14,388 around 10:35 am (IST) with all components in the green
Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, South Indian Bank, YES Bank and Axis Bank climbed up to 1 per cent. Federal Bank (up
0.41 per cent), RBL Bank (up 0.33 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 0.32 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (up 0.19 per cent) were also trading with mild
gains. Equity benchmarks were in the positive terrain tracking global cues. Investor sentiment got a boost on better-than-expected inflation
numbers released yesterday. Reflecting improvement in the economic situation, industrial production grew by 7.1 per cent in February, while
key retail inflation slipped to a five-month low of 4.28 per cent in March, official data showed yesterday. The uptick in industrial
production has been driven largely by the robust performance of the manufacturing sector coupled with a higher offtake of capital goods and
consumer durables. Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated in March due to easing food prices, including
vegetables. The NSE Nifty50 index was up 43 points at 10,502, while the BSE Sensex was up 156 points at 34,257
Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 40 were trading in the green, while 10 were in the red