11 May , 2026 By : Debdeep Gupta
Bank shares fell up to 4 percent on Monday, dragging the Bank Nifty index lower by as much as 1.7 percent, amid a sharp rise in crude oil prices and weak quarterly earnings from banking heavyweight State Bank of India (SBI).
All the 14 constituents of the Bank Nifty index were trading in the red during the session.
SBI emerged as the top loser on the Bank Nifty index after the country’s largest public sector lender reported a 5.6 percent year-on-year rise in standalone net profit for the January-March quarter, but missed Street estimates due to pressure on margins and operating profit.
The bank posted a standalone net profit of Rs 19,684 crore for the fourth quarter, compared with Rs 18,643 crore in the year-ago period. However, the figure was lower than the Reuters-LSEG estimate of Rs 20,312 crore.
Total income during the quarter declined to Rs 1,40,412 crore from Rs 1,43,876 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, the bank said.
SBI was also the top drag on the Nifty PSU Bank index, which declined 1.7 percent.
The Nifty Private Bank index too slipped up to 0.5 percent amid broader weakness in the market.
Banking stocks came under pressure after Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 4.32 percent to USD 105.7 per barrel following the failure of talks between the US and Iran to reach a peace agreement over the West Asia conflict.
A rise in crude oil prices is seen as negative for Indian banks as higher oil prices can increase inflationary pressures, raise borrowing costs and weigh on economic activity, which in turn may impact credit growth and asset quality.
Key technical levels to watch
"The banking index continues to witness range-bound movement and remains relatively subdued compared to the broader market. Immediate support is placed around the 52,700-52,800 zone, while resistance is seen near 56,800-57,700. A sustained move above the resistance band would be required to revive momentum and confirm renewed leadership from the banking pack," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking, said.
Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said immediate support for Bank Nifty is placed in the 54,900-54,800 zone.
"Any sustainable move below this zone could result in Bank Nifty extending its weakness towards 54,500, followed by 54,100 in the short term. On the upside, the immediate resistance for the index is placed in the 55,800-55,900 zone," he added.
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