Index Action
Nifty50
Amid mixed cues from the Asian markets, the Nifty50 opened higher and briefly slipped into the red. Aided by gains in IT and Banking stocks, the index surged past the 16,750 mark. Oil & Gas and select FMCG stocks are among the laggards. At 12 pm today, it was trading 123 points higher at 16,753.
For March 17 options contracts, the Nifty50 has sizable positions at 17,000 and 16,700 call options and 16,500 and 16,700 put options. Further additions were seen in both 16,700 call and put options.
The Nifty50’s immediate support is at 16,400 and resistance is at 17,000 levels.
Bank Nifty
The Bank Nifty opened higher and gained further momentum. Buoyed by the reports of relaxations from the RBI, HDFC Bank is the top gainer in the banking index. At 12 pm today, the Bank Nifty was trading 512 points higher at 35,059.
For March 17 options contracts, the Bank Nifty has sizable positions at 36,000 and 35,000 call options and 34,000 and 34,500 put options. Further additions were seen in both 35,000 call options and put options.
The Bank Nifty’s immediate support is at 34,100 and resistance is at 35,900 levels.
Stock Action
Today’s top gainers are Zee Entertainment, Balrampur Chini, Cummins, SRF and HDFC Bank.
Today’s top losers are Jubilant Foodworks, AU Small Finance Bank, HPCL, IOC and SAIL.
Sector Update
Among sectors, the IT and Banking indices saw buying interest. Stocks like Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are trading in the green.
The Realty and Metal sectors came under selling pressure. Stocks like DLF, Oberoi Realty, NALCO, Hindustan Copper and JSPL are trading in the red.
Global Markets Update
Major European markets are likely to open higher as their Futures are trading in the range of 0.3% to 1.2%. The US Futures are also trading higher, up by 0.5%.