Barometers trade flat; metal shares shine

The key equity indices traded near the flat line in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 21,000 level. Metal shares rallied for the second day in a row.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 2.55 points to 69,925.98. The Nifty 50 index added 10.70 points or 0.05% to 21,007.80. The Nifty hit an all-time high of 21,037.90 in early trade.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.39%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,059 shares rose and 1,605 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 0.52% to 12.69. The Nifty 28 December 2023 futures were trading at 21,106.10, at a premium of 98.3 points as compared with the spot at 21,007.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 December 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 35.3 lakh contracts at the 21,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 41.7 lakh contracts were seen at 20,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.06% to 7,518.80. The index advanced 2.12% in two trading sessions.

Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.3%), Welspun Corp (up 2.79%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.44%), JSW Steel (up 1.59%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.99%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.92%), Tata Steel (up 0.73%), Adani Enterprises (up 0.51%), Vedanta (up 0.32%) and Jindal Stainless (up 0.23%) gained.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindalco Industries rose 2.42% after the company announced that it will set up a new battery foil manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 800 crore in Odisha.

Mahindra & Mahindra fell 0.02%. The company`s total production increased 13.4% to 69,875 units in the month of November 2023 as against 61,618 units as compared with November 2022.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank jumped 6.99% after the lender launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise Rs 750 crore. The lender has set the floor price for the issue at Rs 112.66 per share, reflecting a discount of 10.02% from the bank`s previous closing price of Rs 125.20 on the NSE.

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