Sensex gains 207 pts; metal shares shine; VIX rallies 3.72%

Domestic equity barometers pared all the losses and traded with decent gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,050 mark after hitting the day�s low of 21,916.55 in mid-morning trade. Metal shares extended gains for the third consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 206.62 points or 0.28% to 72,850.05. The Nifty 50 index rose 53 or 0.24% to 22,076.35.

The broader market underperformed the key indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.04% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.11%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,942 shares rose and 1,837 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.72% to 14.20. The Nifty 28 March 2024 futures were trading at 22,177.15, at a premium of 100.8 points as compared with the spot at 22,076.35.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 March 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 34.9 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 45.8 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index advanced 1.95% to 7,954.60. The index rallied 4.02% in three trading sessions.

Tata Steel (up 4.76%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 4.1%), Steel Authority of India (up 3.53%), JSW Steel (up 2.65%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 1.98%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.91%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.73%), Vedanta (up 1.28%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 0.27%) and NMDC (up 0.2%) advanced.

On the other hand, Adani Enterprises (down 1.77%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.22%) and Jindal Stainless (down 0.91%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

The Anup Engineering soared 14.24% after the company announced that its board will consider bonus share issue on Wednesday, 20 March 2024.

Meanwhile, the company has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire 100% equity shares of Mabel Engineering (Mabel), for a cash consideration of Rs 33 crore.

Coforge tumbled 6.41%. The IT company announced that its board has approved a proposal to raise funds upto Rs 3,200 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) or any other permissible mode as per applicable laws.

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