Nifty ends lower on Monday

The fifty stock index - Nifty - ended lower on Monday, on account of selling in front line blue chip counters, taking weak global cues after Asian shares wobbled yet again as growth concerns in China led to a sell-off in Chinese equities. Sentiments remained down-beat from the beginning of trade with a private report stating that consumer sentiments in India fell for the fourth consecutive month in December to the lowest on record, as consumers reported a further deterioration in their personal finances amid rising inflation. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee also dampened the sentiment.  After a gap down opening, market went to day’s low, thereafter market gradually started recovery and entered into positive territory for a short period of time in noon deals as some solace came with a World Bank report stating that India will continue to be the bright spot of the global economy and is projected to grow at a robust 7.8 percent in fiscal 2016-17, more than a percentage point higher than China’s. But, once again, Nifty witnessed selling pressure in the last one hour of trade, losing more than 37 points.

On the global front, Asian equity markets ended in deep red on Monday after more weak data reignited concerns about China's economy following a global stocks rout at the start of the year. European equity markets kicked off the week on an upbeat note, as investors shrugged off yet another dismal session in Asia, which saw stocks plunge to their lowest level in more than four years. 

The top gainers from the F&O segment were the Vedanta, Housing Development and Infrastructure and Indraprastha Gas. On the other hand, the top losers were Union Bank of India, Oil India and Kaveri Seed Company. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7500-8300 calls and 7000-77500 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 7800 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7300 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 8300 Call, while 7700 call witnessed considerable OI addition. 

The India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market's short term expectation of volatility decreased by 6.13% and reached 17.79. The 50-share Nifty was up by 33.05 points or 0.44% to settle at 7,601.35.   

Nifty January 2016 futures closed at 7583.75 on Monday at a premium of 19.90 points over spot closing of 7,563.85, while Nifty February 2016 futures ended at 7609.30 at a premium of 45.45 points over spot closing. Nifty January futures saw addition of 0.35 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 21.96 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 0.40 points at 205.20 compared with spot closing of 204.80. The number of contracts traded were 17,820.        

Vedanta January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.35 points at 85.35 compared with spot closing of 85.00. The number of contracts traded were 15,338.                          

ICICI Bank January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.15 points at 239.85 compared with spot closing of 239.70. The number of contracts traded were 13,743.                  

Axis Bank January 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.85 points at 419.35 compared with spot closing of 418.50. The number of contracts traded were 16,077.                        

Tata Steel January 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.95 points at 252.15 compared with spot closing of 253.10. The number of contracts traded were 12,994.       

Among Nifty calls, 7700 SP from the January month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 1.58 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7500 SP from the January month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.10 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 7600 SP (2.76 mn) and that for Puts was at 7500 SP (5.99 mn).  The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7614.52 --- Pivot Point 7554.43 --- Support --- 7503.77.   

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 0.87 for January month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were United Breweries (14.00), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (2.45), HCL Technologies (1.27), Ultratech Cement (1.11) and Indian Overseas Bank (1.06).   Among most active underlying, Reliance Industries witnessed a contraction of 0.54 million of Open Interest in the January month futures contract, followed by Reliance Infrastructure witnessing an addition of 0.90 million of Open Interest in the January month contract; State Bank of India witnessed an addition of 3.00 million of Open Interest in the January month contract, Tata Motors witnessed an  addition of 1.17 million of Open Interest in the January month contract and Maruti Suzuki India witnessed an addition of 0.05 million units of Open Interest in the January month's future contract.