Indices trim gains; realty shares in demand; VIX drops 5.64%

The frontline indices pared some gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,000 level after hitting the day�s high of 22,080.95 in mid-morning trade. Realty shares advanced for the second day in a row.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 423.55 points or 0.59% to 72,525.24. The Nifty 50 index gained 135.75 points or 0.62% to 21,974.85.

The broader market outperformed the key indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.62% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.76%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,739 shares rose and 925 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC Flash India composite PMI rose to 61.3 in March as compared with 60.6 in February. It indicated a sharp rate of expansion that was the strongest since July 2023.

The data showed the strongest increase in private sector output for eight months during March, amid a pick-up in growth at goods producers. Buoyant demand conditions fuelled growth, with aggregate sales rising at a sharp and accelerated pace. The manufacturing industry led the upturn with the fastest expansions in factory orders and production in nearly three-and-a-half years.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said, �Led by the strongest manufacturing output in nearly three-and-a-half years, the composite output index rose quickly. New orders rose at a faster pace than in the previous month, and within that both domestic and export orders showed improved vigour. Input prices grew at a faster pace in March, and all the increase was not passed on to output prices, leading to some softening in composite margins.�

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 5.64% to 12.71. The Nifty 28 March 2024 futures were trading at 22,050.35, at a premium of 75.5 points as compared with the spot at 21,974.85.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 March 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 51.4 lakh contracts at the 22,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 59.1 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index declined 1.73% to 848.80. The index advanced 2.36% in two trading sessions.

Swan Energy (up 4.15%), Sobha (up 3.37%), DLF (up 2.95%), Godrej Properties (up 2.72%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 2.47%), Brigade Enterprises (up 2.26%), Oberoi Realty (up 1.04%), Macrotech Developers (up 0.86%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Prestige Estates Projects (down 2.31%) and Phoenix Mills (down 0.1%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) advanced 2.47% after it emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for a project awarded by South Eastern Railway to upgrade electric traction system for Rs 167.28 crore.

Power Finance Corporation surged 6.03% after it sold its wholly owned subsidiary, Solarpur Transmission, to Torrent Power for Rs 6.54 crore.

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