Nifty below 21,950 mark, metal shares shine

The headline equity benchmarks continued to trade sideways in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded around the 21,950 mark after hitting the day�s high of 22,022.40 in morning trade. Metal shares rose after declining in the past trading session. Trading was volatile due to February F&O series expiry today.

At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 52.21 points or 0.07% to 72,357.09. The Nifty 50 index lost 2.35 points or 0.01% to 21,948.80.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.29%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,466 shares rose and 2,223 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The National Statistical Office (NSO) is scheduled to release the official third quarter GDP data today. India�s economic growth is likely to moderate in the range of 6 to 6.8% in the third quarter of the current financial year, sharply lower than 7.6% expansion recorded in the previous quarter, as per reports.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 2.66% to 15.90. The Nifty 29 February 2024 futures were trading at 22,114.70, at a premium of 165.9 points as compared with the spot at 21,948.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 February 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 228.6 lakh contracts at the 22,200 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 144.8 lakh contracts were seen at 21,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.71% to 7,906.10. The index declined 1.88% in the past trading sessions.

Hindustan Copper (up 4.41%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.82%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.55%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.35%), NMDC (up 1.26%) APL Apollo Tubes (up 1.11%), Vedanta (up 1.08%), JSW Steel (up 0.42%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.37%) and Tata Steel (up 0.21%) advanced.

On the other hand, Jindal Stainless (down 1.68%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.58%) and Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 0.5%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Venus Pipes & Tubes surged 5.04% after the company said expansion into fittings business and a planned capex of Rs 175 crore for seamless & welded pipes & tubes.

PB Fintech shed 0.60%. The company said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), has granted certificate of registration to the company�s wholly owned subsidiary Policybazaar Insurance Brokers to act as composite insurance broker.

KSB tumbled 6.76%. The company�s consolidated net profit declined 1.78% to Rs 54.9 crore in Q4 CY23 as against with Rs 55.9 crore posted in Q4 CY22. Revenue from operations grew by 14.87% year on year to Rs 602.60 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.

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