Nifty ends below 7,750 level

The fifty stock index - Nifty - ended lower on Wednesday, as market sentiment remained weak in the absence of any positive trigger amid weak Asian cues after weak economic data from China raised global growth concerns. Besides, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle-East and the developments in North Korea also dampened sentiment. Moreover, Traders failed to get any sense of relief on report that the Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index surged to 53.6 in December from November's 50.1, marking a sixth month above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction. On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red, while Chinese stocks rebounding after losses in the previous three sessions. European shares were trading lower weighed down by commodity stocks after the devaluation of the Chinese yuan raised growth concerns in the world's second largest economy.  Back home, after getting weak start, Nifty was oscillating between positive and negative territory till afternoon session, thereafter, a sharp selling was witnessed in the market and finally ended with the loss of over 43 points.  

The top gainers from the F&O segment were SRF, Dish TV India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. On the other hand, the top losers were Container Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc and Reliance Infrastructure. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7800-8300 calls and 7300-7900 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 7900 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7600 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 8200 Call, while 7900 call witnessed considerable OI addition.

The India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market's short term expectation of volatility decreased by 0.89% and reached 16.55. The 50-share Nifty was down by 43.65 points or 0.56% to settle at 7,741.00.   

Nifty January 2016 futures closed at 7750.05 on Wednesday at a premium of 9.05 points over spot closing of 7,741.00, while Nifty February 2016 futures ended at 7773.45 at a premium of 32.45 points over spot closing. Nifty January futures saw addition of 0.09 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 20.81 million (mn) units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on January 28, 2016.              

From the most active contracts, SBI January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.35 points at 217.35 compared with spot closing of 217.00. The number of contracts traded were 15,648.                 

ICICI Bank January 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.15 points at 250.05 compared with spot closing of 250.20. The number of contracts traded were 14,951.           

Axis Bank January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 1.00 points at 431.55 compared with spot closing of 430.55. The number of contracts traded were 10,202.                      

Tata Steel January 2016 futures traded at a discount of 1.20 points at 267.55 compared with spot closing of 268.75. The number of contracts traded were 14,054.      

Tata Motors January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 2.05 points at 367.05 compared with spot closing of 365.00. The number of contracts traded were 9,632.                         

Among Nifty calls, 7900 SP from the January month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.68 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7700 SP from the January month expiry was the most active put with an addition  of 0.38 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 8000 SP (8.85 mn) and that for Puts was at 7700 SP (5.65 mn).  The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7787.57 --- Pivot Point 7754.38 --- Support --- 7707.82. 

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 0.94 for January month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were United Breweries (8.50), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (2.62), HCL Technologies (1.88), Indian Overseas Bank (1.64) and Motherson Sumi Systems (1.30). 

Among most active underlying, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 0.19 million of Open Interest in the January month futures contract, followed by Reliance Infrastructure witnessing an addition of 0.43 million of Open Interest in the January month contract; Tata Steel witnessed a contraction of 0.69 million of Open Interest in the January month contract, State Bank of India witnessed a contraction of 0.88 million of Open Interest in the January month contract and Reliance Capital witnessed a contraction of 0.59 million units of Open Interest in the January month's future contract.