NEW DELHI, Oct 26 — As one might expect, India’s private-sector banks were largely excluded from yesterday’s rally in bank stocks, following the government’s pledge to inject about US$32 billion (RM135.44 billion) of capital into state lenders.

Notable exceptions were ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd, which were both upgraded by Morgan Stanley analysts, who said the two will benefit from the eventual clearing of nonperforming loans in the financial system.

Still, the assumption that private banks can keep gaining market share from government lenders is “no longer as strong as it was earlier”, Credit Suisse Group AG analysts said in a note. — Bloomberg