Benchmarks trade with decent gains; PSU banks in demand

The key equity barometers traded with minor gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 17,150 level. PSU banks witnessed some bit of value buying.

At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 250.07 points or 0.44% to 57,550.75. The Nifty 50 index added 75.15 points or 0.44% to 17,167.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.20% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.59%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2436 shares rose and 799 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

Australia announced sanctions on eight of President Vladimir Putin`s top security advisors on Wednesday following Russia`s `unwarranted, unprovoked, unacceptable` invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Japan also issued sanctions on Russia, terming its move unacceptable violation of Ukraine`s sovereignty. Japan`s sanctions include prohibiting the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan and freezing the assets of certain Russian individuals as well as restricting travel to Japan.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 7.54% to 24.65. The Nifty 24 February 2022 futures were trading at 17,167.95, at a premium of 0.6 points as compared with the spot at 17,167.35.

The Nifty option chain for 24 February 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 91.2 lakh contracts at the 17,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 93 lakh contracts was seen at 16,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 2.02% to 2,800.95, amid some bit of value buying. The index had declined 5.28% in the past five sessions.

Union Bank of India (up 4.16%), Bank of Baroda (up 3.62%), Indian Bank (up 3.09%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 3.06%), UCO Bank (up 2.46%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 2.19%) and Central Bank of India (up 2.11%) edged higher.

Further, Bank of India (up 1.79%), Jammu and Kashmir Bank (up 1.72%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.61%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 1.57%), Canara Bank (up 1.41%) and SBI (up 0.94%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra CIE Automotive fell 2.63% to Rs 194.20 after the company`s consolidated net profit declined 28.15% to Rs 80.23 crore on 5.44% rise in net sales to Rs 2064.15 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020.

Pricol advanced 1.78% to Rs 119.95. The company has entered into partnership with US-based Sibros Technologies for providing telematics and connected vehicle solutions to the OEMs in Indian and ASEAN markets across all vehicle segments.

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