Nifty ends in green on December F&O expiry

S&P CNX Nifty ended higher on Thursday on the back of short-coverings by participants on December series expiry in the derivatives contracts. The sentiments were on optimistic note as India outpaced China as the world’s fastest growing economy in 2015 and is expected to clock 7-7.5 per cent growth in the New Year provided the reform momentum continues and the business environment improves. On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red on the final trading day of 2015 as a renewed slide in oil prices sapped sentiment, a baleful trend that shows every sign of lingering into 2016. European shares were set to end 2015 with gains made over the course of the year, although they remained below earlier peaks after weak commodity prices weighed on market in the final quarter.

Back home, after getting a flat but positive start, Indian benchmark Nifty traded choppy for most part of the day’s trade as investors remained concerned with head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde stating that global economic growth will be ‘disappointing’ next year. She said the prospect of rising interest rates in the US and an economic slowdown in China were contributing to uncertainty and a higher risk of economic vulnerability worldwide. However, sharp buying was witnessed in last leg of trade that lifted the Nifty near 7950 mark and finally ended with the gain of 50 points.  

The top gainers from the F&O segment were Kaveri Seed Company, The India Cements and Housing Development and Infrastructure. On the other hand, the top losers were Cadila Healthcare, Just Dial and Ashok Leyland. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7950-8500 calls and 7200-7900 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 8000 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7900 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 7900 Call, while 7950 call witnessed considerable OI addition.

The India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market's short term expectation of volatility decreased by 3.34% and reached 13.87. The 50-share Nifty was up by 50.10 points or 0.63% to settle at 7,946.35.  

Among Nifty calls, 8000 SP from the January month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.42 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7900 SP from the January month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.64 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 8000 SP (9.12 mn) and that for Puts was at 7900 SP (8.83 mn).  The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7970.88 --- Pivot Point 7931.02 --- Support --- 7906.48.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 1.02 for January month contract.  The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were United Breweries (11.00), HCL Technologies (3.35), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (2.91), Indian Overseas Bank (2.40) and Divis Laboratories(2.00).   

Among most active underlying, Reliance Infrastructure witnessed an addition of 0.65 million of Open Interest in the January month futures contract, followed by Reliance Industries witnessing a contraction of 1.07 million of Open Interest in the January month contract; Larsen & Toubro witnessed a contraction of 1.92 million of Open Interest in the January month contract, State Bank of India witnessed an addition of 1.15 million of Open Interest in the January month contract and Cadila Healthcare witnessed a addition of 0.44 million units of Open Interest in the January month's future contract.