NIFTY50 trading flat after volatile opening; UltraTech Cement, Hindalco, Grasim top F&O gainers

The Indian benchmark indices were trading flat after recouping early morning losses. The NIFTY50 traded 23,129 level down 20 points and SENSEX dropped 2 points to 74,545 at 1:58 pm on Monday. The buoyancy in the markets can be primarily attributed to buying at highly oversold levels. Additionally, major oil trading countries are working on finding a solution to restore normalcy in the Strait of Hormuz to cool the energy prices. However, the situation remains grim with continued attacks by Iran on neighbouring countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia,Iraq.

On the Futures side the NIFTY50 futures traded at 23,233 level up 33 points with nearly 65 points in premium to spot NIFTY50 levels. The NIFTY Bank futures traded at 53,900 levels with nearly 225 points premium to the spot prices.

The NIFTY50 options data for tomorrow’s expiry show heavy open interest addition at 23,000 put strike price, indicating a strong support for the index in the short term. On the flipside the 24,000 calls held the highest open interest, indicating a strong resistance in the near term.

Top F&O gainers and losers

Shares of UltraTech Cement are the top gainer in the NIFTY50, trading 3.8% higher at ₹11,020 levels. The stock is also top F&O gainer with strong open interest at 22.48 lakh OI for the 30th March expiry. On technical charts, the stocks touched its hourly 20 EMA levels, but failed to close above it after facing heavy resistance.

Grasim Industries jumped 2.4% on Monday afternoon as the cement and metal stocks were in focus in trade. The shares hit intraday high of ₹2,653 apiece, rallying nearly 3% from the previous day’s close. On the options chart, the stock is witnessing heavy long buildup with 1.54 crore contracts, up over 2%. On the technical charts, the stock price touched the 20 EMA levels on hourly charts, but failed to carry forward the momentum above those levels.

Shares of Hindalco remained in focus as metal stocks rallied over supply issues concerning the markets. The shares jumped 1.8% higher at ₹926 apiece after the strong 4.5% increase in open interest addition at 4.01 crore contracts. On the hourly charts, the stock maintained its gaining momentum to cross 20 EMA, but faced resistance around 50 EMA levels and saw a push back below.

Source: Upstox and NSE.