Bank Nifty rallied to a nearly 18-month high and closed at 19,531.55, up 1.64% or 314.55 points. Bank of India was the biggest gainer as its shares were up by 4.45% to close at R116.30, this was followed by Punjab National Bank (PNB) whose stock closed at R127, up by around 3%.Stocks of ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, Canara Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank were up between 1% and 3%. Shares of other banks like Axis bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank were up between 0.4% and 1%.