Amid Sensex Crash, Analysts Continue to be Bullish on Banking Stocks

Banking stocks saw buying interest on Tuesday despite continued selloff in the broader Sensex and Nifty. Banking stocks edged up after five days of selling, in which the Bank Nifty has shed nearly 10 per cent.
  Gains were led by private sector lenders such as Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. Yes Bank, which sunk 16 per cent in a week, traded 4 per cent higher today. Public sector lenders such as SBI also advanced, rising nearly 2 per cent.
  Global investment bank UBS said it continues to be "overweight" on rate sensitive stocks, given the interest rate scenario in India.
  "For a medium term perspective, we do think that private financials are one of the best sectors to be positioned in for India," said Gautam Chhaochharia, head of India research at UBS Securities.
  "The longer term story of India still intact. After the recent fall the risk-reward for India in absolute terms have also improved, on valuation terms it looks attractive now," he added.
  UBS is also "overweight" on telecom, oil & gas, media, pharma sector.
  Nirav Sheth of Edelweiss Securities said the economy is on a mend and a recovery looked possible in the second half of the year. Edelweiss expects the Sensex to hit a target of 32,000 by March 2016. The brokerage is overweight on SBI, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank.