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Informist, Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

MUMBAI – While a ceasefire and ongoing peace talks in West Asia are set to aid the sectoral index, the constituents of the Nifty Bank index will take cues from the March quarter earnings of heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, analysts said. Both the banks are set to report their earnings for Jan-Mar on Saturday, along with YES Bank. 

As market participants expect global cues to set the stage for a recovery in the Nifty Bank index closer to its pre-war level of 60529.00 points, domestically, focus is on bank earnings. HDFC Bank is seen reporting a year-on-year rise of nearly 9% in net profit for the March quarter to around INR 191.13 billion, according to the average of estimates from 13 brokerages. In its quarterly business update, the country's largest private sector lender reported credit growth of 12% on year in Jan-Mar. 

Along with its earnings, close focus will be on HDFC Bank's commentary, and with regard to its internal shuffle in the management. In March, its then director and part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned from his post citing a clash of the bank's practices with his personal "values and ethics". The bank's share price has fallen a little over 5% since Chakraborty's resignation. "An extension of the current MD's (managing director) term should end the uncertainty around the top management in HDFC Bank," said Anand Dama, head of banking, financial services, and insurance research at Emkay Global Financial Services. "Additionally, (the) bank also needs to appoint a long-term credible chairman and clarity on the same will be essential in view of abrupt resignation by (the) earlier Chairman."

ICICI Bank is expected to report a 1.3% rise in its net profit for the March quarter at INR 127.97 billion, according to the average of estimates from 12 brokerages. The brokerages expect the bank's provisions to rise in a wide range of 11-79% on year. Provisions had eaten into the bank's net profit, which fell 4% on year, in Oct-Dec, especially due to an additional standard asset provision of INR 12.83 billion made pursuant to the Reserve Bank of India's annual supervisory review.

Across banks, especially for state-owned banks, analysts expect one-time losses due to the Reserve Bank of India's recent curbs on net open rupee positions of banks in the onshore foreign exchange market. A rise in bond yields will also weigh on treasury gains, they said. 

This week, the Nifty Bank settled at 56565.70 points, up 1.2%. The index formed a bullish candle on the technical charts for the second consecutive week, Om Mehra, technical research analyst at SAMCO Securities, said in a note. YES Bank was the biggest gainer, rising 5.8% on week. IDFC FIRST Bank was the next top gainer, rising 3.5%. The index is stabilising above 56565.70 points, with 55800–56000 levels acting as an immediate make-or-break support zone, Dhupesh Dhameja, derivatives research analyst at SAMCO Securities, said in a note. A decisive close above 56800 points will confirm strong bullish momentum and open the path towards further recovery, he said. 

In comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.26% in the week. All stocks in the sectoral index finished the week higher. Brent crude oil futures have fallen around 6% in the same period. Post market hours Friday, crude prices plunged 10% after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open as long as the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire was in place. 

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Following are the resistance and support levels for key bank stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

US$1 = INR 92.9250

Reported by Cassandra Carvalho

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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