Bank Nifty Crashed Almost 1,000 Pts After HDFC, Axis, ICICI, Kotak, Yes Bank Q1 Results; Nifty Private Bank Drops, PSU Bank Stocks Rises

Bank Nifty crashed almost 1000 points on Monday, July 20, after big banks’ Q1 results during the weekend. Extreme selling pressure was seen in private bank stocks, especially HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, which nosedived by 5-6%. Also, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank, and AU Small Finance Bank dragged the index. On the other hand, major buying was seen in PSU Bank stocks with Punjab National Bank (PNB), Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank in the lead. That said, the Nifty Private Bank index dropped by over 2%, becoming the top loser of the day. While the Nifty PSU Bank index surged by nearly 3%, emerging as the best performer.

Bank Nifty Index

Bank Nifty index crashed by at least 988.3 points to hit an intraday low of 57,533.10. In the closing bell, the index was near its day’s low to 57,945, down by 576.40 points or 1%.

“Bank Nifty witnessed selling pressure during Monday’s session as heavyweight private lenders such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank declined sharply. However, strong buying interest in ICICI Bank, SBI and other PSU banks helped the index recover from lower levels,” Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

The reason behind the decline was Q1 results of these major banks which were announced during the weekend. The worst shocker is of HDFC Bank which majority of analysts believe has disappointed in the quarter, while Axis and Kotak also reported mixed first quarterly earnings for FY27.

“Among the banking majors, ICICI Bank has reported stellar set of numbers with excellent all round performance. Kotak Bank, too, has reported very good results. HDFC Bank has disappointed, particularly on the NIM front,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Technically, going ahead, Bhuva said, the 57,500-57,350 zone, which coincides with the 200-SMA on the hourly chart and the 200-DMA, is expected to provide strong support. On the upside, 58,500 remains a key resistance level. The overall trend remains positive, and a buy-on-dips strategy continues to be the preferred approach for traders.

Big Banks Q1 Results:

Here’s how majority of banks performed in Q1FY27, as per JM Financial:

1. HDFC Bank delivered a mixed quarter, with core PPOP growth of +8%/-1% YoY/QoQ (4% below JMFe), due to lower fee income and continued NIM compression.

2. ICICI Bank delivered a strong 1QFY27 performance with PAT growth of 16% YoY/8% QoQ (+5% JMFe) and RoA/RoE increasing 6bps/55bps QoQ to ~2.5%/17.1% driven by healthy NII growth, strong fee income growth and lower-than-expected provisions.

3. Axis Bank reported a mixed Q1FY27, with healthy balance-sheet growth offset by continued margin pressure.

4. Kotak Bank reported a mixed Q1FY27 performance, with PAT growing 26% YoY/2% QoQ (-2% JMFe), supported by normalisation in credit costs while operating performance remains underwhelming.

5. Yes Bank reported a 2% PAT beat versus JMFe (34% YoY/flat QoQ), primarily driven by improving core profitability and lower tax expenses, partly offset by higher-than-expected provisions (49% JMFe).

6. Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported a healthy Q1FY27 with PAT rising 214% YoY (+17% JMFe), driven by improving core operating performance and continued strengthening in asset quality.

7. Federal Bank reported a healthy Q1FY27 with PAT rising +37% YoY, +2% JMFe, aided by stronger-than-expected NII and sharply lower provisions.

Private Bank vs PSU Bank Stocks:

The Nifty PSU Bank index surged by 233.35 points or 2.8% to close at 8,615.10. Among the top performers are — Punjab National Bank which skyrocketed nearly 6%, followed by Union Bank of India that gained 4.4%. Also, Indian Overseas Bank soared 3.6%, Bank of Baroda rallied over 3%, Canara Bank and Indian Bank advanced by 2.95% and 2.89%. Other banking stocks like Bank of India, UCO Bank, SBI and Central Bank of India also zoomed by 1% to 2%.

On the contrary, private bank stocks witnessed massive selloffs on July 20th. Nifty Private Bank index nosedived by 646.75 points or 2.3% to close at 27,861.75. At the losers list stood Axis Bank with 5.4% decline followed by HDFC Bank which crashed by over 5%. Yes Bank plunged by nearly 3%, while Kotak Bank and Bandhan Bank slipped by 2% and 1%.

Some private banks recorded a huge rally that offset some of the losses after Axis, HDFC and Kotak Bank’s crash. These included IDFC First Bank and ICICI Bank which gained by 2% and 1.2%. Also, Federal Bank and IndusInd Bank jumped 1% each. RBL Bank was marginally up.

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