Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Wednesday’s trading session on a higher note, ahead of US Fed interest rate decision. Market made a good start, as sentiments remained positive with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article stating that unlike the global economy, India would not slow down and maintain the pace of expansion achieved in 2022-23. It mentioned ‘We remain optimistic about India, whatever the odds.’ Sentiments got boost as investors became optimistic on the financial sector’s outlook following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurances to safeguard against further banking crises.
In afternoon session, index continued to trade in positive terrain, as traders got support amid a private report stating that the government is evaluating measures to bring down the tax burden on foreign investors that put money in alternative investment funds (AIFs), which include venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) domiciled in India. Traders also took a note of report that India will spend a whopping 1.7 per cent of its GDP on transport infrastructure this year -- around twice the level in America and most European countries.
Traders were seen piling positions in Pharma, Healthcare Index and PSU Bank, while selling was witnessed in Media, Consumer Durables and Realty. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Bandhan Bank, Vodafone Idea and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company. On the other hand, the top losers were ABB India, Steel Authority of India and Bharat Heavy Electricals. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 17400 -17600 calls and 16900 -17100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility decreased by 1.82% and reached 14.81. The 50 share Nifty up by 44.40 points or 0.26% to settle at 17,151.90.
Nifty March 2023 futures closed at 17183.95 (LTP) on Wednesday, at a premium of 32.05 points over spot closing of 17151.90, while Nifty April 2023 futures ended at 17275.65 (LTP), at a premium of 123.75 points over spot closing. Nifty March futures saw a contraction of 5,430 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 2,40,472 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on March 29, 2023. (Provisional)
From the most active contracts, HDFC Bank March 2023 futures traded at a premium of 7.70 points at 1581.40 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1573.70. The numbers of contracts traded were 42,511. (Provisional)
Reliance Industries March 2023 futures traded at a premium of 3.70 points at 2278.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2274.30. The numbers of contracts traded were 32,490. (Provisional)
ICICI Bank March 2023 futures traded at a premium of 2.30 points at 860.45 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 858.15. The numbers of contracts traded were 30,284. (Provisional)
Kotak Mahindra Bank March 2023 futures traded flat at 1706.35 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1706.35. The numbers of contracts traded were 25,874. (Provisional)
Indusind Bank March 2023 futures traded at a premium of 1.60 points at 1033.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1031.90. The numbers of contracts traded were 19,580. (Provisional)
Among, Nifty calls, 17200 SP from the March month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 18,061 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 17000 SP from the March month expiry was the most active put with a contraction of 6,648 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 17500 SP (87,059 units) and that for Puts was at 17000 SP (1,07,897 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 17203.48 -- Pivot Point 17155.67 -- Support -- 17104.08.
The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (0.96) for March month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Titan Company (1.33), Bajaj Auto (1.22), Multi Commodity Exchange of India (1.10), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (1.04) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (0.95).
Among most active underlying, HDFC Bank witnessed a contraction of 2,339 units of Open Interest in the March month futures, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 1,111 units of Open Interest in the March month futures, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 1,876 units of Open Interest in the March month futures and Kotak Mahindra Bank witnessed an addition of 1,777 units of Open Interest in the March month futures.
