Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Monday’s trading session with minor gains. Index made a slightly positive start, as investors took some support with Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India's merchandise exports touched $447 billion in FY23, up from $442 billion in FY22, though the final data is awaited. This would translate into a 6 per cent year-on-year jump in exports. In afternoon session, index traded near day’s high point, as market participants got encouragement after IMF Working Paper stated that India has built a world-class digital public infrastructure which is transforming lives and economy and can be a lesson for many countries to follow.
However, in last leg of trade, index trimmed most of its gains and traded near neutral line, as some concern came with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showing that India's foreign exchange reserves retreated from more than eight-month highs to $578.45 billion as of the week ended March 31. That is a decrease of around $380 million from the previous week. At the end, index managed to finish in green above the 17600 mark, as investors remained positive with a private report stating that India's consumer inflation likely eased in March to 5.80% thanks to softer food price rises, falling below the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit for the first time this year.
Traders were seen piling positions in Realty, Auto and IT, while selling was witnessed in PSU Bank, Private Bank and Bank. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Godrej Properties, Power Finance Corporation and DLF. On the other hand, the top losers were Petronet LNG, IDFC and Havells India. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 17900 -18100 calls and 16900 -17050 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility increased by 4.02% and reached 12.27. The 50 share Nifty up by 24.90 points or 0.14% to settle at 17,624.05.
Nifty April 2023 futures closed at 17677.00 (LTP) on Monday, at a premium of 52.95 points over spot closing of 17624.05, while Nifty May 2023 futures ended at 17733.20 (LTP), at a premium of 109.15 points over spot closing. Nifty April futures saw an addition of 1,195 units, taking the total outstanding open interest (Contracts) to 2,09,601 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on April 27, 2023. (Provisional)
From the most active contracts, Tata Motors April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 2.80 points at 463.70 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 460.90. The numbers of contracts traded were 48,851. (Provisional)
ICICI Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 4.55 points at 871.95 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 867.40. The numbers of contracts traded were 27,385. (Provisional)
Reliance Industries April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 12.95 points at 2337.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2324.05. The numbers of contracts traded were 23,609. (Provisional)
Infosys April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 3.00 points at 1430.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1427.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 19,682. (Provisional)
HDFC Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 9.30 points at 1664.45 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1655.15. The numbers of contracts traded were 19,447. (Provisional)
Among, Nifty calls, 18000 SP from the April month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 1,148 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 17600 SP from the April month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 15,459 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 18000 SP (74,735 units) and that for Puts was at 17000 SP (1,25,197 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 17679.45 -- Pivot Point 17638.70 -- Support -- 17583.30.
The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.24) for April month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Siemens (1.27), Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company (1.16), Tata Consultancy Services (1.11), Vedanta (1.03) and Bajaj Auto (1.02).
Among most active underlying, Tata Motors witnessed an addition of 5,169 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, HDFC Bank witnessed a contraction of 2,371 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 3,845 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 1,368 units of Open Interest in the April month futures and Infosys witnessed an addition of 4,176 units of Open Interest in the April month futures. (Provisional)
