The Bombay Stock Exchange's Bankex index, which consists of 18 banking stocks, including giants like SBI [Get Quote], ICICI Bank [Get Quote] and HDFC Bank [Get Quote], has soared by more than 23 per cent since April 20 when the market first hit the 12,000 level.

In contrast, the benchmark Sensex has added just about 8 per cent during the past 135 days -- the time Sensex took to move from 12,000 to 13,000 level, while indices of sectors like auto, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, metals as well as the PSUs, mid-cap and small-cap segments, lost value during this period.

Even today, banking index outperformed all the sectoral and segment indices with a gain of 1.9 per cent, driven by smart gains in stocks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Allahabad Bank [Get Quote]. State Bank of India, UTI Bank [Get Quote], Bank of India, Kotak Bank and Vijaya Bank [Get Quote] also closed in the positive territory on Monday.

The robust gains registered by banking stocks in the recent past have been driven by impressive quarterly results, strong credit growth and capital raising initiatives, the analysts said.

Credit growth story, softening yield on investment and positive impact on valuations from enhanced hybrid capital are among the major drivers of the banking sector rally, Edelweiss Capital banking analyst Vishal Goel told PTI.

A possible rate hike by the Reserve Bank tomorrow could have further positive impact on the investor sentiments toward the banking stocks, Goyal said.

Edelweiss Capital expects a hike of 25 basis points in the short-term interest rates by RBI, he added. The cumulative market capitalisation of 18 banking stocks present on the BSE Bankex index has increased by over Rs 45,000 crore during the Sensex's 1,000-point rally to the 13,000 level, taking the total to about Rs 2,70,000 crore.

Besides banking stocks, IT is another sector that has witnessed a sharp jump in share prices during the Sensex's journey from 12,000 to 13,000 level. The BSE IT index surged by about 15 per cent during this period, while sharply outperforming the benchmark index.

The combined market cap of 10 IT stocks present on the index has increased by over Rs 35,000 crore during this period to near Rs 3,50,000 crore.

The BSE Oil and Gas index has also gained about 8 per cent during this period, while the capital goods index has remained nearly unchanged.

The PSU index has lost more than 3 per cent while wiping out more than Rs 35,000 crore from the combined market cap of all stocks present on the index. The metal and FMCG indices have also lost more than 10 per cent since April 20.