Nifty ends flat amid weak global cues

Domestic equity index -- Nifty closed with modest gain on Friday. Sentiment got some support with UN report for the Asia-Pacific has said that Indian economy is projected to expand by 7.6 percent in 2016-17 and accelerate to 7.8 percent in 2017-18, mainly on the back of domestic consumption demand aided by steady employment and a relatively low inflation.  However, gains remained capped  on report that country’s current account deficit is likely to widen modestly to $25 billion in the current fiscal from $20 billion last year on rising demand for gold and sluggishness in exports. Further, some cautiousness too prevailed in the market due to disappointing quarterly results and weak cues from the global markets after Bank of Japan failed to enthuse investors by deciding against any fresh market stimulus. On the global front, Asian markets ended lower on Friday following oil prices eased slightly in Asia after hitting a series of new highs this week, bolstered by a weak dollar. European markets were trading lower after official figures showed eurozone economic growth was far higher than expected in the first quarter, but that inflation had fallen back below zero.

Back home, after making a weak opening, Nifty was alternating between positive and negative territory throughout the session and finally ended with marginal gain. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Indiabulls Real Estate, Bata India and GMR Infrastructure. On the other hand, the top losers were Jindal Steel & Power, CEAT and HCL Technologies. In the index options segment, maximum OI was being seen in the 7900-8300 calls and 7000-7900 puts. In today's session, while the traders preferred to exit 7900 put, heavy buildup was seen in the 7300 put. On the other hand, traders exited from 7600 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 0.36% and reached 16.53. The 50-share Nifty was up by 2.55 points or 0.03% to settle at 7,849.80.   

Nifty May 2016 futures closed 7894.80 on Friday at a premium of 45.00 points over spot closing of 7,849.80, while Nifty June 2016 futures ended at 7907.60 at a premium of 57.80 points over spot closing. Nifty May futures saw addition of 0.52 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 20.66 million (mn) units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on May 26, 2016.                         

From the most active contracts, SBI May 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.60 points at 189.50 compared with spot closing of 188.90. The number of contracts traded were 25,142.       

Vedanta May 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.80 points at 104.55 compared with spot closing of 103.75. The number of contracts traded were 11,393.          

ICICI Bank May 2016 futures traded at a premium of 0.70 points at 238.30 compared with spot closing of 237.60. The number of contracts traded were 76,128.      

HDFC Bank May 2016 futures traded at a premium of 13.95 points at 1140.65 compared with spot closing of 1,126.70. The number of contracts traded were 13,655.                   

Axis Bank May 2016 futures traded at a premium of 4.55 points at 475.55 compared with spot closing of 471.00. The number of contracts traded were 20,405.

Among Nifty calls, 8000 SP from the May month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.87 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 7800 SP from the May month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.62 million open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 8200 SP (3.99 mn) and that for Puts was at 7700 SP (4.24 mn). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 7896.33 --- Pivot Point 7842.52 --- Support --- 7795.98.            

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 0.98 for May month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were Indian Overseas Bank (2.36), United Breweries (2.11), Godrej Consumer Products (2.00), Container Corporation of India (1.38) and IRB Infrastructure Developers (1.28).  

Among most active underlying, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 3.56 million of Open Interest in the May month futures contract, followed by State Bank of India witnessing an addition of 1.57 million of Open Interest in the May month contract; Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 1.49 million of Open Interest in the May month contract, Yes Bank witnessed a contraction of 0.03 million of Open Interest in the May month contract and Axis Bank witnessed a contraction of 0.47 million units of Open Interest in the May month's future contract.