Axis Bank Shares Tumble 4% Today: What’s Weighing On The Private Lender?

Axis Bank Share Price: Shares of Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private sector lenders, came under sharp selling pressure on Tuesday, December 16, after management commentary suggested that the recovery

in net interest margins (NIMs) is likely to be pushed back by two quarters.

Following this update, Axis Bank turned into one of the worst-performing index stocks and the biggest drag on the benchmarks. Axis Bank share price fell as much as 4.12% to an intraday low of Rs 1,231.25 on the BSE.

Why is Axis Bank stock falling?

According to multiple media reports, Axis Bank’s management told global brokerage Citi Research that it now expects NIMs to bottom out either in the fourth quarter of FY26 or in the first quarter of the following fiscal, compared with its earlier expectation of Q3 FY26.

During the second-quarter earnings call, Axis Bank Chief Financial Officer Puneet Sharma had said that NIMs would bottom out in the December quarter, provided there was no further rate cut by the Reserve Bank.

However, the management told analysts at Citi Research that it now anticipates a shallow, “C”-shaped NIM trajectory, with margins expected to reach around 3.8% over the next 15–18 months, compared with 3.73% reported in the second quarter of FY26.

Against this backdrop, Citi maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock and set a target price of Rs 1,285 per share.

Citi also noted that the corporate segment is gaining traction, driven by working capital and refinancing demand. The brokerage sees a recovery in the retail segment as well, supported by pent-up demand, though it cautioned that the sustainability of this momentum will need to be monitored.

It added that stress in the cards portfolio is improving, personal loan stress is stabilising, and there is no visible stress in export-oriented MSMEs.

Separately, a Bloomberg report said Axis Bank is adding 50 private bankers and plans to launch several funds to tap India’s growing wealthy population.

“We have now expanded to 52 cities from 30 last year to tap the growing wealth in tier 2 cities and beyond,” Arnika Dixit, head of wealth management and the affluent banking unit at Axis Bank, told Bloomberg.

Axis Bank share price trend

Despite Tuesday’s decline, Axis Bank share price is up 10% over the past three months and has gained 15% so far in 2025. On a year-on-year basis, the stock is higher by 7%. Over a five-year period, Axis Bank has emerged as a multibagger, delivering returns of 103% to investors.

As of 11:35 am, Axis Bank shares were trading at Rs 1,232.70, down 4.01%.