Markets trade flat; RIL surges 6% to its 52-week high

RIL, GAIL, Wipro and Coal India were the top movers on BSE Sensex

Benchmark indices were trading on a flat note tracking global cues as investors stay cautious ahead of US President Donald Trump’s first speech in US Congress on Tuesday.
 
Markets on Thursday (Feb 23) rallied to fresh 52-week highs, but failed to hold on to the gains amid volatility. However, despite slipping, the indices ended the day higher for the sixth consecutive session.
 
At 11:05 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,884, down 9 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,926, down 13 points.
 

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap gained 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.

"Nifty looks to have pricked a good deal of momentum that was required to reach the measured objective of  9,120. To this end, a rise in VIX is expected and will need to be closely tracked if it is high to enough to signal a lower turn," said Geogit Financial Services in a note.
 
On Thursday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 392.33 crore, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 445.04 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.
 
Sectors and Stocks

RIL, GAIL, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma were the top movers on BSE Sensex while ITC, Axis Bank, Power Grid and M&M were the biggest laggards.

RIL rose 6% hitting its fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,253.45 and was trading at highest levels since May 2009.

Coal India rose over 1% after the company said the board of its arm Northern Coalfield has approved a share buyback plan worth Rs 1,244 crore.   
 
Feb F&O expiry
 
The Nifty Feb expiry rollover was at 73.3% on Thursday compared to 73.12% on same day of previous expiry as compared to a 3-month average of 68.57%. The market wide Feb F&O rollover at 82.85% was lower than with its three months average of 83.28% and higher than its six months average of 82.25%.

 
Highest rollover in Feb expiry was reported in sectors including infrastructure, textile, media, power and realty while lowest rollovers were in technology, capital goods, telecom, cement and oil & gas sectors.
 
Global Markets
 
Asian stocks erased early losses but stayed below 19-month highs on Monday as a renewed drop in sovereign bond yields on political concerns prompted some investors to move to the sidelines after a recent rally.
 
Markets remained in recent broad trading ranges, and interest is focused on US President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, where he is expected to unveil some elements of his plans to cut taxes.

 
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat after declining 0.3% in early trades. Japan was down 1.2% and Australia off 0.2%.
 
The broad Asia-Pacific index, which fell 0.7% on Friday, is still up more than 11% since end-December.