Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended lower with cut of around one and half percent on Monday amid rising crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia as the US-Iran failed to reach a peace deal to end the West Asia war. Index made a gap-down start following mixed cues from other Asian peers. Soon, index extended its losses and continued its weak trade till the end of the session as traders were cautious with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to prioritise work from home, avoid international travel for a year, and not purchase gold during this period as well. Some concern also came as the RBI in its latest report stated that India's forex reserves dropped by $7.79 billion to $690.69 billion during the week ended May 1. Besides, persistent foreign fund outflow dampened investors sentiments. As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,110.60 crore on May 08. Finally, Nifty ended near 23, 800 mark.
Most of the sectorial indices ended in red led by Consumer Durables, Realty, and PSU Bank. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Vodafone Idea, Tata Consumer Products and UPL. On the other hand, the top losers were ABB India, Kalyan Jewellers India and Titan Company. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 24900 - 25100 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
