New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS): Shares of some banks in the PSU segment swam against the current on Monday and traded sharply in the green on the back of improved asset quality in terms of NPAs, said analysts.

Also, the Centre pegging realistic divestment target for FY23 also somewhat supported the PSU bank shares.

On Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the disinvestment target set for FY23 was more realistic and she wanted to achieve it, and it was not an underestimation.

Broader market indices slumped sharply on Monday due to heavy selling pressure by FIIs coupled with fears of rate hike by the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee meeting starting Tuesday. Also, rising crude oil prices also weighed on the market sentiment.

SBI shares hit its record high of Rs 549, to later pare some gains and settle at Rs 534, up 0.7 per cent.

The lender's asset quality improved in the third quarter with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) reportedly declining year-on-year.

Further, Bank of Baroda shares settled 6.2 per cent higher at Rs 113.

Notably, among all the Nifty sectoral indices, only Nifty PSU bank index traded in the green on Monday, NSE data showed. It gained 0.9 per cent.

Over the past one-month period, Nifty PSU bank rose nearly 13 per cent.