Mid-market update; Frontline indices trade in red, heavy call writing seen at 22,600

During the mid-afternoon session on Friday, the benchmark indices are trading in the negative territory. After a positive opening, the market witnessed a steep decline as Nifty50 is down by about 100 points from the day’s high.

Options data indicate rangebound trade

As per the options data, the level of 22,500 is likely to act as an immediate support as maximum Open Interest (OI) build up is seen in this strike price on the Put (PE) side. Meanwhile, on the upside, massive writing is seen in the 22,600 Call (CE) option, hence, this could act as a resistance level for the day.

Benchmark indices give up opening gains

The 30-share index S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 74,143 signifying a decline of 195.66 or -0.26% from its opening level. Nifty 50 index was at 22,513 level, falling by 51.75 points or -0.22%. Further, BankNifty was down by 75 points or 0.15% to 48,419.95 from its previous closing.

Market breadth remains strong

In terms of market breadth, 1,387 stocks advanced, 924 declined and 93 stocks remained unchanged.

Broader indices continue to rally

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices were up by 0.80% and 0.84%, respectively.

Sectoral gainers & losers

Sector-wise, the top-performing sectoral indices during the mid-day were Nifty Media (+1.95%), Nifty Consumer Durables (+1.49%) and Nifty IT (+1.48%). On the other hand, Nifty Financial Service, Nifty Bank and Nifty PSU were seen trading in red.

Some of the trending stocks of the mid-afternoon session on the Nifty 500 index were Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO), Zensar Technologies Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd.

Top trending stocks

Some of the trending stocks of the mid-afternoon session on the Nifty 500 index were Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO), Zensar Technologies Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd.

• Shares of HUDCO zoomed 11.57% in Friday’s session to trade at ₹226.55 over its previous close of ₹203.05. Today, the intraday high and low of HUDCO was ₹228.30 and ₹202, respectively. The company has not made any significant announcements of late. Hence, the rally in the share price could be driven purely by the market forces.

• Another constituent of the Nifty 500 that rallied was Zensar Technologies Ltd. The stock jumped 10.34% in today’s session to trade at ₹634.15. The intraday high and low of Zensar Technologies was ₹642 and ₹585.20, respectively. The stock rallied on the back of strong financial performance for the quarter ending on March 31, 2024, with net profit rising 45%.

• Tech Mahindra Ltd also rallied 9.20% and was trading at ₹1,299.85 over its previous close of ₹1,190.30. Today, the intraday high and low of Tech Mahindra Ltd were ₹1,347 and ₹1,241, respectively. The buoyant outlook provided by the management in the post earnings con-call is the key driver for today’s movement in the stock.