NSE gauge -- Nifty50 -- extended its downtrend for third consecutive day on Thursday and closed the session with the cut of above half a percent. Market made a cautious start, as traders concerned with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) statement that India should recommit to cutting on debt by bringing down its public sector borrowing requirements and enhance focus on having greater fiscal transparency to help investors make informed economic decisions. Further market continued to trade sideways, as traders’ mood remained down-beat amid reports that merger and acquisitions seem to have become a big casualty of corporates' debt distress as India Inc learned it hard way in 2019 that their first priority was to meet their loan repayment obligations and suitors from abroad also seemed reluctant in wooing distressed targets for any matchmaking. This has led to a mostly muted scene on India's corporate deal street this year, after a blockbuster 2018, while economic slowdown fears further came in the way for any significant merger and acquisition deals.
In final hour, selling drag the index lower to close near intraday low point, as traders overlooked the report that government think-tank Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand made a case for only two slabs under the goods and service tax regime as against the multiple slabs currently, and said rates should be revised annually if required.
Most of the the NSE sectoral indices ended in red, except Metal and Media. The top gainers from the F&O segment Steel Authority of India, SRF and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation. On the other hand, the top losers were Union Bank of India, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Yes Bank. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 12000 - 12,500 calls and 11,900 - 12,350 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short term expectation of volatility decreased by 6.15% and reached 10.91.The 50 share Nifty was down by 88.00 points or 0.72% to settle at 12,126.55.
Nifty January 2020 futures closed at 12196.05 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 69.50 points over spot closing of 12126.55, while Nifty February 2020 futures ended at 12231.00 (LTP), at a premium of 104.45 points over spot closing. Nifty December futures saw an addition of 3.68 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 11.85 mn units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on January 30, 2020 (Provisional).
From the most active contracts, Reliance Industries January 2020 futures traded at a premium of 13.15 points at 1528.95 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1515.80. The numbers of contracts traded were 39,443 (Provisional).
HDFC Bank January 2020 futures traded at a premium of 9.60 points at 1279.45 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1269.85. The numbers of contracts traded were 26,155 (Provisional).
Tata Consultancy Services January 2020 futures traded at a premium of 14.40 points at 2216.40 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2202.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 23,619 (Provisional).
Larsen & Toubro January 2020 futures traded at a premium of 7.35 points at 1286.65 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1279.30. The numbers of contracts traded were 23,452 (Provisional).
Housing Development Finance Corporation January 2020 futures traded at a premium of 13.65 points at 2430.25 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2416.60. The numbers of contracts traded were 22,429 (Provisional).
Among, Nifty calls, 12200 SP from the January month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 0.47 million open interests. Among Nifty puts, 12000 from the January month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.30 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 12200 SP (1.66 mn) and that for Puts was at 12000 SP (2.68 mn). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 12,192.45 -- Pivot Point 12,155.65 -- Support -- 12,089.75.
The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at 1.16 for January month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Mahindra & Mahindra Fin. Services (2.56), Cummins India (2.43), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (1.83), Sun TV Network (1.78) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (1.60).
Among most active underlying, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 10.29 million units of Open Interest in the January month futures contract, followed by State Bank of India witnessing an addition of 27.34 million units of Open Interest in the January month contract, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 9.65 million units of Open Interest in the January month contract, HDFC Bank witnessed an addition of 7.14 million units of Open Interest in the January month contract and Tata Consultancy Services witnessed an addition of 4.04 million units of Open Interest in the January month future contract (Provisional).
