After witnessing a volatile day, Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended on flat note with a minor gains. After making a positive start, index soon slipped into a red terrain, as some concern came with private report stating that India's economy is likely to post a resilient 6% growth in FY24, easing slightly from 7% in FY23 because of softer global growth and higher interest rates. During the day, market altered between green and red, as adding to the pessimism, National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 13.17 crore on April 19.
But, in last hour of trade, index managed to end in positive terrain. Traders got support, amid a private report stating retail inflation in April will soften with base effect and the inflation print may read a full percentage point lower, after a favourable base effect sharply pulled down Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to 5.66 percent in March. However, upside remained capped, as another private report stated that India's economy will slow considerably this fiscal year as the global economic slowdown impedes domestic growth prospects, which showed inflation will remain elevated despite recent interest rate hikes.
Traders were seen piling positions in Consumer Durables, Private Bank and Bank, while selling was witnessed in Healthcare Index, Realty and Metal. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Cummins India, Page Industries and City Union Bank. On the other hand, the top losers were Divi's Laboratories, TVS Motor Company and J K Cement. 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 decreased by 1.74% and reached 11.94. The 50 share Nifty up by 5.70 points or 0.03% to settle at 17,624.45.
Nifty April 2023 futures closed at 17655.00 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 30.55 points over spot closing of 17624.45, while Nifty April 2023 futures ended at 17718.95 (LTP), at a premium of 94.50 points over spot closing. Nifty April futures saw an addition of 8,590 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,93,631 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on April 27, 2023. (Provisional)
From the most active contracts, HDFC Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 1.20 points at 1674.20 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1673.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 33,892. (Provisional)
Infosys April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 1.20 points at 1224.70 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1223.50. The numbers of contracts traded were 26,581. (Provisional)
ICICI Bank April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 2.40 points at 896.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 894.10. The numbers of contracts traded were 20,610. (Provisional)
Kotak Mahindra Bank April 2023 futures traded at a discount of 0.50 points at 1889.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1890.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 16,638. (Provisional)
Reliance Industries April 2023 futures traded at a premium of 2.40 points at 2347.40 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2345.00. 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 1,03,736 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 17600 SP from the April month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 29,901 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 17700 SP (2,05,369 units) and that for Puts was at 17000 SP (1,47,888 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 17677.81 -- Pivot Point 17631.08 -- Support 17577.72.
The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (0.89) for April month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Tata Communications (1.64), Siemens (1.26), Nestle India (1.17), Bajaj Auto (1.17) and AU Small Finance Bank (1.16).
Among most active underlying, HDFC Bank witnessed a contraction of 769 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, Kotak Mahindra Bank witnessed a contraction of 4,331 units of Open Interest in the April month futures and ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 2,950 units of Open Interest in the April month futures. (Provisional)
