Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- finished Wednesday’s trading session in a negative terrain, pulled down by weak performance of IT and Media stocks. Index made a lower start, as traders were cautious with a private report stating that deal activities declined 35 per cent to $9.7 billion across 332 transactions in the first quarter of 2023 due to an overall decline in deal activities as the fear of a global recession has gained more traction amid the continuing war on Ukraine. Of the total deals, M&As constituted more than half, still lower by 21 per cent at $4.4 billion involving 76 deals, down 56 per cent during the March quarter. However, in early afternoon session, index trimmed most of its losses and traded on a flat note, as traders took some support with a private report stating that India last year got 20 per cent of the total private equity and venture capital (PE-VC) investments in the Asia Pacific, making the country a bright spot amid decelerating capital flow in the region. But, in last trading hours, index extended its losses and ended 41.40 points lower, as concerns about U.S. interest rates continue to outweigh recent strong economic data from China.
Traders were seen piling positions in Metal, Realty and Pharma, while selling was witnessed in IT, Media and PSU Bank. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Balrampur Chini Mills and Jindal Steel and Power. On the other hand, the top losers were Balkrishna Industries, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and RBL Bank. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 17600 -17800 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 0.64% and reached 12.15. The 50 share Nifty down by 41.40 points or 0.23% to settle at 17,618.75.
Nifty April 2023 futures closed at 17645.00 (LTP) on Wednesday, at a premium of 26.25 points over spot closing of 17618.75, while Nifty April 2023 futures ended at 17706.00 (LTP), at a premium of 87.25 points over spot closing. Nifty April futures saw an addition of 7,074 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,89,701 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on April 27, 2023. (Provisional)
From the most active contracts, Infosys April 2023 futures traded flat at 1230.95 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1230.95. The numbers of contracts traded were 33,892. (Provisional)
Reliance Industries April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 0.20 points at 2349.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2348.80. The numbers of contracts traded were 26,581. (Provisional)
ICICI Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 2.40 points at 894.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 892.10. The numbers of contracts traded were 20,610. (Provisional)
Tata Consultancy Services April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 3.70 points at 3092.70 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 3089.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 16,638. (Provisional)
HDFC Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 1.75 points at 1670.45 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1668.70. The numbers of contracts traded were 16,391. (Provisional)
Among, Nifty calls, 17700 SP from the April month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 26,720 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 17600 SP from the April month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 22,261 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 17700 SP (1,01,850 units) and that for Puts was at 17000 SP (1,21,412 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 17663.32 -- Pivot Point 17621.58 -- Support 17577.02.
The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.08) for April month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Nestle India (1.27), Siemens (1.21), Bajaj Auto (1.20), AU Small Finance Bank (1.17) and Godrej Properties (1.09).
Among most active underlying, Infosys witnessed an addition of 10,327 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, Reliance Industries witnessed a contraction of 1,612 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, HDFC Bank witnessed an addition of 409 units of Open Interest in the April month futures and AXIS Bank witnessed an addition of 1,007 units of Open Interest in the April month futures. (Provisional)
