Nifty ends below 7,500 mark on Thursday

The fifty shares index -- Nifty -- ended lower on the Thursday, on account of profit booking by fund and retail investors amid weak global cues. Investors remained cautious ahead of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for January scheduled to be released on Friday. Sentiment was under pressure with Ratings agency Crisil stating that there are no signs of Indian economy sharply rebounding in the next financial year as the fiscal policy remains restrictive. Sentiment also remained weak with the report that India’s import of project goods has been adversely affected by the ongoing downturn in global trade and, in turn, may point to a slowdown in the infrastructure sector. However, shares of Metal companies were ended higher as Union Cabinet has cleared amendment to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act. MMDR regulates mining sector activities in the country. The move would allow transfer of mining lease for captive mines, as compared to the present scenario where transfer of mining lease is only for auctioned mines. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets ended mixed on Thursday, as traders digested another round of Chinese data, as well as interest rate decisions from central banks in New Zealand and South Korea. European stocks edged lower as participants wait to find out whether the European Central Bank (ECB) will add more stimulus for the eurozone economy.

Back home, benchmark soon after a positive start entered into red terrain and continued to trade under pressure throughout the session. Finally, the Nifty ended with a cut of over 45 points. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Granules India, Cairn India and Aditya Birla Nuvo. On the other hand, the top losers were Indiabulls Real Estate, UCO Bank and Strides Shasun. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7200-8000 calls and 6500-7500 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 7300 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 increased by 2.23% and reached 17.89. The 50-share Nifty was down by 45.65 points or 0.61% to settle at 7,486.15.   

Nifty March 2016 futures closed 7483.70 on Thursday at a discount of 2.45 points over spot closing of 7,486.15, while Nifty April 2016 futures ended at 7523.75 at a premium of 37.60 points over spot closing.  Nifty March futures saw contraction of 0.80 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 21.78 million (mn) units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on March 31, 2016.                        

From the most active contracts, SBI March 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.85 points at 181.20 compared with spot closing of 180.35. The number of contracts traded were 19,438.                      

ICICI Bank March 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.25 points at 215.65 compared with spot closing of 215.90. The number of contracts traded were 11,394.             

Axis Bank March 2016 futures traded at a premium of 2.75 points at 415.30 compared with spot closing of 412.55. The number of contracts traded were 13,331.                 

Reliance Industries March 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.55 points at 1009.70 compared with spot closing of 1,009.15. The number of contracts traded were 17,842.

Tata Steel March 2016 futures traded at a discount of 0.85 points at 295.15 compared with spot closing of 296.00. The number of contracts traded were 15,915.       

Among Nifty calls, 7600 SP from the March month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.20 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7400 SP from the March month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.36 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 7500 SP (6.61 mn) and that for Puts was at 7200 SP (6.49 mn). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7539.70 --- Pivot Point 7493.55 --- Support --- 7440.00.            

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 1.13 for March month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were Cummins India (4.00), Indian Overseas Bank (3.35), Divis Laboratories (1.93) and Mcleod Russel India (1.62) and Federal Bank (1.54).  

Among most active underlying, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 0.74 million of Open Interest in the March month futures contract, followed by Tata Steel witnessing a contraction of 1.63 million of Open Interest in the March month contract; State Bank of India witnessed an addition of 1.60 million of Open Interest in the March month contract, Reliance Infrastructure witnessed an addition of 0.11 million of Open Interest in the March month contract and Infosys witnessed a contraction of 0.34 million units of Open Interest in the March month's future contract.