Benchmarks turn rangebound, VIX climbs 4.25%

The domestic equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range with strong gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above the 22,050 mark. Oil & gas shares advanced in the five consecutive trading session.

At 12.26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 442.69 points or 0.82% to 54,241.07. The Nifty 50 index added 165.25 points or 0.75% to 22,059.80.

The benchmarks, Nifty50 and Sensex hit a fresh all-time high of 22,081.95 and 73,288.78 respectively.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.65% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.18%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,036 shares rose and 1,809 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

Economy

The annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is 0.73% (provisional) for the month of December, 2023 (over December, 2022). Positive rate of inflation in December, 2023 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, machinery & equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment computers, electronics & optical products etc.

Meanwhile, India`s retail inflation edged marginally in December on higher food prices. Inflation, measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI), rose to a four-month high of 5.69% in December from 5.55% in November and it was 5.72% in December 2022.

Separately, India`s Index for Industrial Production (IIP) growth declined to 2.4% in November from 11.7% in October.

After rising for four consecutive weeks, India�s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined sharply by $5.89 billion to $617.3 billion during the week ended January 5, according to the latest RBI data.

So far this fiscal, the reserves have increased $55.72 billion. In the previous reporting week ended December 29, the reserves rose $2.759 billion to $623.2 billion, the highest so far this fiscal. In the week before that, the reserves increased $4.471 billion to $620.441.

Gold reserves also declined $839 million to $47.48 billion during the reporting week, while the special drawing rights (SDRs) were down $67 million to $18.29 billion, the RBI said. The country�s reserve position with the IMF also declined $26 million to $48.66 billion in the reporting week.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.25% to 13.66. The Nifty 25 January 2024 futures were trading at 22,084, at a premium of 24.2 points as compared with the spot at 22,059.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 January 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 29.7 lakh contracts at the 22,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 39.3 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index advanced 1.44% to 10,164.65. The index advances 4.57% in the five trading sessions.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 4.3%), Oil India (up 3.41%), Petronet LNG (up 2.13%), GAIL (India) (up 1.79%), Gujarat Gas (up 1.71%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.66%), Gujarat State Petronet (up 1.3%), Reliance Industries (up 1.2%), Indraprastha Gas (up 0.95%) and Aegis Logistics (up 0.48%) rallied.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Aditya Birla Money shed 1.36% after the company reported 73.39% surged in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.15 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 8.73 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 101.30 crore in Q3 FY24, registering a growth of 51.47% from Rs 66.88 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.

JSW Energy slipped 1.34% said that it has successfully commissioned Unit-1 (350 MW) at Ind-Barath 700 MW (2 x 350 MW) thermal power plant in Odisha. Post the commissioning of this unit, the company�s operational capacity rises to 7,189 MW.

Gujarat Natural Resources was locked in 5% after the company announced that it has achieved significant success in discovering new oil reservoirs in its Allora and Dholasan fields. The company stated that its subsidiary GNRL Oil & Gas has been actively engaged in a drilling campaign to enhance production across various fields.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News