Nifty ends above 7550 mark amid firm global cues

The fifty stock index - Nifty - ended higher on Friday on account of sustained buying by fund and retail investors amid firm global cues. After a weak start, market soon bounced back in the positive territory and there appeared not even an iota of profit booking in the session as the Nifty managed to fervently gain from strength to strength and finally ended with gains of around one hundred and forty points.   Sentiments got boost after a government report showed that India’s fiscal deficit stood at Rs 4.88 lakh crore during April-December or 87.9 percent of the full-year target, indicating a improvement in its finances. The deficit was 100.2 percent of the full-year target during the same period a year ago. Further, the rebound in global crude oil prices on hopes that Russia and OPEC could come to some solution to tackle the problem of supply glut has lifted the sentiments across the globe. Some support also come with the with the former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s statement that the Indian economy, which expanded at 7.7 per cent between 2003 and 2014, has potential to clock 8 per cent growth in the near future. Furthermore, appreciation in the Indian rupee too was supporting the market. 

On the global front, Asian markets ended in green, after the Bank of Japan made a surprise announcement that it was introducing a negative interest rate policy, which should kick-start lending in the world's third-largest economy. European equities were trading higher on Friday as oil prices head for their fourth straight session of gains.

The top gainers from the F&O segment were Yes Bank, Shriram Transport Finance Company and Titan Company.  On the other hand, the top losers were Just Dial, Syndicate Bank and Bank of Baroda. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7500-8000 calls and 7000-7500 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 8100 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7400 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 7300 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 3.69% and reached 17.24. The 50-share Nifty was up by 138.90 points or 1.87% to settle at 7,563.55.   

Nifty February 2016 futures closed 7568.05 on Friday at a premium of 4.50 points over spot closing of 7,563.55, while Nifty March 2016 futures ended at 7581.75 at a premium of 18.20 points over spot closing. Nifty February futures saw addition of 0.54 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 19.37 million (mn) units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on February 25, 2016.                 

From the most active contracts, Vedanta February 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.05 points at 71.85 compared with spot closing of 71.80. The number of contracts traded were 17,386.                              

SBI February 2016 futures traded at a premium of 1.25 points at 180.80 compared with spot closing of 179.55. The number of contracts traded were 29,068.            

ICICI Bank February 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.45 points at 228.55 compared with spot closing of 229.00. The number of contracts traded were 37,710.                      

Axis Bank February 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.20 points at 409.80 compared with spot closing of 409.60. The number of contracts traded were 25,040.                          

Tata Motors February 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.75 points at 337.65 compared with spot closing of 336.90. The number of contracts traded were 13,288. 

Among Nifty calls, 7600 SP from the February month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.54 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7400 SP from the February month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 1.12 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 7600 SP (3.64 mn) and that for Puts was at 7400 SP (4.36 mn).  The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7625.20 --- Pivot Point 7514.00 --- Support --- 7452.35.        

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 1.14 for February month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were Oil India (2.50), Kaveri Seed Company (2.26), Indian Overseas Bank (1.86), Container Corporation of India (1.67), and ACC (1.48).

Among most active underlying, Yes Bank witnessed an addition of 1.97 million of Open Interest in the February month futures contract, followed by Maruti Suzuki India  witnessing an addition of 0.24 million of Open Interest in the February month contract; ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 3.77 million of Open Interest in the February month contract, Larsen & Toubro witnessed a contraction of 1.39 million of Open Interest in the February month contract and State Bank of India witnessed an addition of 5.78 million units of Open Interest in the February  month's future contract.