CLSA raises banks' weight in India portfolio, exits Eternal and most Vedanta stocks

HDFC Bank

09/09/2026 08:40

** Brokerage CLSA raises its weight on banks in its India portfolio, naming ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS preferred plays
** Says banks could emerge as the market's favoured sector if foreign inflows continue
** Brokerage cites attractive growth-adjusted valuations relative to global peers
** Also expects higher potential net interest margins and stronger growth in an inflationary environment
** Indian banks .NSEBANK are down 4.9% year-to-date, outperforming the Nifty 50's .NSEI 9.6% decline; however, they continue to lag global bank benchmarks
** CLSA says relative valuations versus global peers have rarely appeared this supportive
** Exits Eternal ETEA.NS and all Vedanta entities except Vedanta Aluminium VEDO.NS
** Nifty Bank falls 0.2% and Eternal slips 0.5% 

 (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)
 ((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))