Nifty ends above 6,150 levels on account of buying in Pharma, IT stocks

Nifty broke out of intraday range in the last half an hour of trade and closed above 6,150 levels on account of surge in Pharma and IT stocks as investors scurried to buy select blue chip stocks. On the global front, China led Asian stocks higher, while on the flip side, European shares were trading mixed after three sessions of gains as investors awaited a report on US housing stats.

Back home, Nifty made a positive start in earlier deals retaining their gains with IT taking the lead, while Healthcare sector showed good upmove on the street in mid morning, supported by surge in Ranbaxy on reports that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will announce a settlement with US units of Ranbaxy Laboratories and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries over allegations the two rival generic drug makers made an unlawful agreement to restrict competition.

The trade remained dull for most part of the day and traders kept considering only value buying. Some support to the market also came with sustained capital inflows from foreign funds. The foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 292.23 crore, while domestic institutional investors were net sellers worth Rs 154.83 crore on Tuesday. There was some buzz in the telecom stocks, as the telecom secretary announced that the much-awaited guidelines for mergers and acquisitions of telecom companies will be in place within 10 days. The non-sectoral gauge of sugar was in jubilant mood on Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) report that the country’s sugar output fell over 13 per cent to 14.4 million tonnes so far this year on delayed crushing, compared to 16.6 million tonnes of sugar in the corresponding period of the 2012-13.

Meanwhile, sectoral indices on the NSE made positive closing. CNX Metal down by 0.98%, CNX Media down by 0.41%, CNX Commodities down by 0.31% and CNX Consumption down by 0.26% were remained the top losers in the trade. While, CNX Pharma up by 1.16%, CNX IT up by 1.50%, CNX Service up by 0.62%, CNX Realty up by 0.49%, and CNX Bank up by 0.33% remained the gainers in the trade.

The India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short term expectation of volatility, down by 2.20% and reached 15.07. The 50-share CNX Nifty increased by 25.65 points or 0.42% to settle at 6,152.75.

Nifty February 2014 futures closed at 6159.05 on Wednesday at a premium of 6.30 points over spot closing of 6,152.75, while Nifty March 2014 futures ended at 6192.05 at a premium of 39.30 points over spot closing. Nifty February futures saw marginal addition, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 15.69 mn units. The near month February 2014 derivatives contract will expire on February 26, 2014.

From the most active contracts, Reliance Industries February 2014 futures were at a premium of 1.5 points at 814.6 compared with spot closing of 813.10. The number of contracts traded was 12,296. 

Ranbaxy Laboratories February 2014 futures were at a premium of 2.2 points at 363 compared with spot closing of 360.80. The number of contracts traded was 10,927. 

Tata Steel February 2014 futures traded at a premium of 0.50 points at 374.5 compared with spot closing of 374.00. The number of contracts traded was 9,035.

HDFC Bank February 2014 futures were at a discount of 1.85 points at 669.2 compared with spot closing of 671.05. The number of contracts traded was 10,165.

SBI February 2014 futures were at a premium of 2.05 points at 1510.45 compared with spot closing of 1,508.40. The number of contracts traded was 23,852.

Among Nifty calls, 6,200 SP from the February month expiry was the most active call with contraction of 0.40 million in open interest.

Among Nifty puts, 6,000 SP from the February month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.78 million open interests.

The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 6,200 SP (5.42 mn) and that for Puts was at 6,000 SP (11.69 mn).The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 6166.82-- Pivot Point 6146.28- Support- 6132.22.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) OI wise, finally stood at 1.52 for February month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were Infosys 1.46, M&M 1.37, Adani Ports 1.37, HCL Tech 1.25 and Auro Pharma 1.18.

Among most active underlying, State Bank of India witnessed contraction of 0.15 million of Open Interest in the February month futures contract, followed by Reliance Industries witnessing  marginal  addition of Open Interest in the February month contract; United Spirits witnessed an contraction of 0.22 million of Open Interest in the February month futures. TCS witnessed an addition of 0.04 million of Open Interest in the February month contract and ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 0.27 million in Open Interest in the expiring February month’s future contract.