Nifty ends above 7,100 mark

The fifty stock index - Nifty - ended higher on Wednesday on the back of value buying in the frontline blue chip counters amid firm European markets. After getting flat start, Indian equity benchmark continued to trade choppy for the most part of the day’s trade. Sentiments remained downbeat with exporters body FIEO’s observation after exports fell for the 14th month in a row, that the country may end up with outbound shipments of $260 billion in 2015-16, sharply lower than the $ 310.5 billion mark achieved in the previous fiscal.  However, sharp buying was witnessed in the last leg of trade that lifted the Nifty to reclaim 7,100 level and finally ended with gain of over 60 points.  On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly lower, with most major stock indexes in the region slipping after an agreement on oil-output restrictions fell flat. While, European markets extended gains on Wednesday as investors cheered on the recovery in oil prices, ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes for its January meeting.

The top gainers from the F&O segment were JustDial, Bank of Baroda and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. On the other hand, the top losers were Titan Company, Jain Erigation Systems and Jindal Steel Power. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7000-8000 calls and 6500-7400 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 7300 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7000 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 7500 Call, while 7400 call witnessed considerable OI addition.  

The India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market's short term expectation of volatility decreased by 5.24% and reached 21.83. The 50-share Nifty was up by 60.20 points or 0.85% to settle at 7,108.45.   

Nifty February 2016 futures closed 7120.90 on Wednesday at a premium of 12.45 points over spot closing of 7,108.45, while Nifty March 2016 futures ended at 7136.95 at a premium of 28.50 points over spot closing. Nifty February futures saw contraction of 0.08 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 21.10 million (mn) units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on February 25, 2016.                   

From the most active contracts, SBI February 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.40 points at 159.25 compared with spot closing of 159.65. The number of contracts traded were 30,931.              

ICICI Bank February 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.50 points at 191.55 compared with spot closing of 192.05. The number of contracts traded were 27,098.                   

Bank of Baroda February 2016 futures traded at a discount of 1.00 points at 139.00 compared with spot closing of 140.00. The number of contracts traded were 22,148.               

Axis Bank February 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.65 points at 404.65 compared with spot closing of 404.00. The number of contracts traded were 16,439.                                              

Tata Motors February 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.15 points at 311.40 compared with spot closing of 311.55. The number of contracts traded were 14,812.  

Among Nifty calls, 7100 SP from the January month expiry was the most active call with a contraction of 0.001 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7000 SP from the January month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.73 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 7400 SP (5.77 mn) and that for Puts was at 7000 SP (6.06 mn).  The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7167.88 --- Pivot Point 7064.27 --- Support --- 7004.83.           

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 0.81 for January month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were Godrej Consumer Products (3.00), Eicher Motors (1.73), Oil India (1.50), Indian Overseas Bank (1.41) and Bank of Baroda (1.30). 

Among most active underlying, State Bank of India witnessed a contraction of 1.28 million of Open Interest in the January month futures contract, followed by Reliance Industries witnessing a contraction of 0.80 million of Open Interest in the January month contract; ICICI Bank witnessed a contraction of 4.08 million of Open Interest in the January month contract, Bank of Baroda witnessed an addition of 4.06 million of Open Interest in the January month contract and Tata Steel witnessed a contraction of 0.82 million units of Open Interest in the January month's future contract.