Public lender State Bank of India (SBI), whose market capitalisation hit an all-time high of Rs 564.45 on Wednesday, rose 1% in insider trading, hitting the Rs 5 trillion mark for the first time on Wednesday.

According to BSE data, with a market capitalisation of Rs 5.03 trillion, SBI ranks seventh in the overall market capitalisation ranking. By contrast, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.85% at 60,058 at 09:42 am.

With this, SBI has become the third lender in the country, with a market capitalisation of over Rs 5 trillion. The data showed that India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank tops the list with a market capitalisation of Rs 8.38 trillion, followed by ICICI Bank with a market capitalisation of Rs 6.33 trillion.

The SBI has outperformed the market over the past three months, surging 26%, while the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 13.9%. ICICI Bank rose 32%, while HDFC Bank rose 15% over the same period.

SBI is the largest bank in India, with a balance sheet of over Rs 54 trillion crores (as of March 2022). It has a healthy retail portfolio and the best operational metrics among PSU banks. Its powerful subsidiaries add value to the bank.
Analysts at ICICI Securities believe that the overall strength of the lending business, as well as debt growth of over 9% and well-prepared book guidance, remain positive. Prudent asset quality and healthy provision coverage comfort the earnings trajectory. Unlocking subsidiaries has upside potential.

The brokerage believes asset quality trends should also continue to improve, with management comments pointing to less incremental pressure.

According to Canara Bank Securities, despite provisions, SBI has shown strong operating performance and higher profitability. The slippage percentage dropped sharply from 2.47% in June 2021 to 0.99% in March 2022. SBI has been trading positively since the 20-DMA on the daily chart broke above the 50-DMA in mid-July. Since then, the stock has gained 16.5% in the past two months. The stock has been operating within the Bollinger Bands daily chart for the past four days and is currently trading at Rs 563. On the weekly chart, the stock also settled at Rs 570 with a higher Bollinger Band. Despite being in overbought territory, choosing key momentum oscillators like the 14-RSI and slow stochastics still favours bulls. The MACD and directional indices are also positive.

On the upside, the stock needs to break out and sustain above the Rs 570-574 range for the buying momentum to pick up. On the downside, the Rs 550 level is the immediate support, below which stocks could fall to Rs 535 – its 20-day SMA.