Credit card additions hit second-highest monthly level in 2026 as banks gear up for festive season
HDFC Bank is in focus.
· ET Stocks, Economic Times Markets
HDFC Bank and Axis Bank together accounted for nearly 43% of the net additions during September, adding 539,878 cards between them. The two private sector lenders emerged as the largest contributors to fresh additions, followed by SBI Cards.
The analysis
HDFC Bank reported movement of 43%. Those are the figures as filed — what moves the price is how they sit against what the market already expected, not their absolute size.
Against that, the stock is -0.5% on the day at ₹676.65, and has returned -8.0% over three months. It sits 33% below its 52-week high, which means a good deal of bad news was already in the price. The banks sector has moved -6.9% over the same period, so HDFC Bank is running 1.1 points behind its peers.
For HDFC Bank, the question is how much of this is already reflected in the price and how much re-rates the banks peer set alongside it.
Market context
- The 3 companies named span 2 sectors, so these are separate company stories rather than one sector-wide move.
- On the day, 0 of 3 are higher: HDFC Bank leads at -0.5% and Axis Bank trails at -1.3%.
- Over three months: HDFC Bank -8.0% against Banks -6.9% (1.1 points behind); Axis Bank -1.8% against Banks -6.9% (5.1 points ahead); SBI Cards -18.1% against Financial Services -15.0% (3.1 points behind).
- At least 25% below the 52-week high: HDFC Bank (33%) and SBI Cards (42%).
| Company | Price | Day | 1M | 3M | From 52-wk high | Volume vs 20-day | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC BankHDFCBANK · Banks | ₹676.65 | -0.5% | -7.5% | -8.0% | -33.0% | 0.3× | — |
| Axis BankAXISBANK · Banks | ₹1,203.60 | -1.3% | -1.4% | -1.8% | -14.2% | 0.2× | — |
| SBI CardsSBICARD · Financial Services | ₹524.10 | -0.8% | -13.6% | -18.1% | -42.5% | 0.1× | — |
Banks
1M -5.6% · 3M -6.9%
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank
Financial Services
1M -11.8% · 3M -15.0%
SBI Cards
Prices as of 28 Oct 2026, 10:04 IST. Sector moves are the average of the stocks we track in each sector.
In this story
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