Nifty trades jubilantly on Thursday

On the global front, Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, as optimism about a potential Brexit deal and hopes for economic recovery helped offset worries about the uncertainty regarding a U.S. coronavirus relief package. Trading activity in the Asian region remained subdued ahead of the Christmas holidays. European markets were trading higher, as the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine propped up hopes that the economic recovery can gain momentum next year. While Western nations accelerated vaccination programs, the European Union is preparing to kick off vaccinations across the bloc on Sunday. Back home, on the sectoral front, there was some reaction in steel sector stocks with report that recovering economy, sprouting demand and improving prices raise hopes for the country's battered steel sector as it steps into the New Year after pandemic-induced disruptions turned 2020 into a disaster for the industry. Stocks related to telecom sector too were buzzing as investment information firm ICRA stated that telecom service providers (telcos) are expected to dial in next round of tariff hikes over the next one or two quarters which is likely to drive revenue growth in the next financial year (FY2021-22).

All the sectoral indices ended in green except IT, Media and Realty. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Tata Motors, Ambuja Cements and Vedanta. On the other hand, the top losers were Vodafone Idea, PVR and Bharat Forge. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 13500 - 14,700 calls and 12,900 - 13,500 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short term expectation of volatility decreased by 2.57% and reached 19.97. The 50 share Nifty up by 148.15 points or 1.09% to settle at 13,749.25.

Nifty December 2020 futures closed at 13760.85 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 11.60 points over spot closing of 13749.25, while Nifty January 2021 futures ended at 13804.15 (LTP), at a premium of 54.90 points over spot closing. Nifty December futures saw an addition of 1,508 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,40,695 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on December 31, 2020 (Provisional).

From the most active contracts, Vedanta December 2020 futures traded at a discount of 0.10 points at 161.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 161.60. The numbers of contracts traded were 39,919 (Provisional).

Reliance Industries December 2020 futures traded at a premium of 5.05 points at 1998.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1992.95. The numbers of contracts traded were 34,658 (Provisional).

Bharti Airtel December 2020 futures traded at a premium of 0.50 points at 516.75 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 516.25. The numbers of contracts traded were 23,814 (Provisional).

ICICI Bank December 2020 futures traded at a discount of 0.05 points at 513.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 513.05. The numbers of contracts traded were 21,596 (Provisional).

Infosys December 2020 futures traded at a discount of 0.95 points at 1236.40 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1237.35. The numbers of contracts traded were 18,369(Provisional).

Among, Nifty calls, 13800 SP from the December month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 6,618 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 13700 SP from the December month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 20,693 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 14000 SP (52,635 units) and that for Puts was at 13000 SP (61,589 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 13,805.03 -- Pivot Point 13,715.97 -- Support -- 13,660.18.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.49) for December month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Asian Paints (1.93), Tata steel (1.04), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.03), Bajaj Finance (1.00) and Vedanta (0.98).

Among most active underlying, Vedanta witnessed a contraction of 2,026 units of Open Interest in the December month futures contract followed by Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 1,266 units of Open Interest in the December month futures contract, Bharti Airtel witnessed a contraction of 925 units of Open Interest in the December month futures contract, Bajaj Finance witnessed an addition of 705 units of Open Interest in the December month futures contract and ICICI bank witnessed an addition of 386 units of Open Interest in the December month futures contract (Provisional).