Technical analyst Abhishek Jain of Stocksidea. com has suggested investors to buy State Bank of India for short term.

Mr. Jain expects the stock to hit a target of Rs 1965.

According to Mr. Jain, the stock may face some resistance around Rs 1915 levels, but after that it can even have more upward movement.

The scrip has very strong support at Rs 1657.

Shares of the bank, on Friday (Aug 28), closed at Rs 1781.55, up Rs 27.35, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The total volume of shares traded was 413,607 at the BSE. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs 1793.90 and a low of Rs 1755on BSE.

The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 1935 and a low of Rs 894 on BSE. Current EPS and P/E of the stock stood at 154.53 & 11.53 respectively.

Mr. Jain said that the stock is looking strong technically. Interested investors can buy the stock for short term.

State Bank of India, on Aug 25, said that it will not hike its lending rates within the next six months.

SBI chairman O. P. Bhatt said that the lending rates were expected to harden by the second half as loan demand perks up.

SBI has decreased its lending rates by 200 basis points since October 2008.

Insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has raised its equity stake in SBI to 10.02% through an open market deal.

LIC has purchased 190,000 shares symbolizing 0.03% stake in SBI.

Moreover, SBI has also decided to begin its general insurance business by March 2010.

The bank has also received RBI's approval for the business.