Stock markets last month

September series futures witnessed total rollover at 84 per cent, compared with the six months average of 82 per cent. The Nifty rollover was at 77 per cent compared with six months average of 72 per cent.

The October series begins with total open interest of Rs 69,800 crore as against Rs 64,300 crore in the September series. Nifty futures OI increased by 6.7 million to 32.3 million shares. The stocks with active rollovers were Birla Jute (95%), JSW Steel (94%) and GTL (94%).

SECTOR ANALYSIS
All the sectors moved along with benchmark indices during September series, except for the technology sector. Polaris Software, i-flex solution, Patni Computer and Wipro were down On a month-on-month basis, while Infosys Technology, TCS and HCL Technology made modest gains.

A strong undercurrent was seen in the financial sector, with IFCI being the largest gainer, up 61.6 per cent. SBI shone with monthly gain of 28 per cent, while ICICI Bank advanced by 23.8 per cent. Auto, fertilizers, metals and refinery sectors also witnessed strength.

PUT-CALL RATIO
The Nifty Put Call ratio in October series moved up from 1.03 to 1.20 largely due to the expiry of September futures contract. Nifty Puts added OI of 61.63 lakh shares (+129.1 per cent), while Nifty Call options added 58.16 lakh shares (+97.1 per cent) in open interest.

More than 50 per cent Call options OI was between the 4,900 and 5,200 strike prices. Similarly, the Nifty Put options OI was at the 4,700-5,000 strike prices. This indicates an indecisiveness on the part of the F&O players.

MARKET POSITION
Open interest in futures and options contracts on a stock is capped at 20% of the free-float holding. If open interest hits over 95% of the MWPL (market wide position limit), fresh open interest is restricted, and the underlying stock can only be bought in cash markets or from a seller in the derivatives market.

STOCK OF THE MONTH: REI Agro
Current month's close (Rs) 589.02;
Previous month's close (Rs) 338.85

Country's leading producer and exporter of basmati rice REI Agro has gained a whopping 80 per cent over the last one month following its announcement of de-merger of the retail business to REI 6Ten Retail last month.

The retail division comprises of over 35 retail outlets in the national capital region (NCR). At a rapid pace, it is expanding its presence in the northern states including Punjab & Harayana and plans to open over 50 stores across these two states in the next one year. '6Ten' stores are speciality food neighbourhood convenience stores offering products such as grocery items, FMCG products, fruit and vegetables to consumers.

With organised retailing fast picking up, the company is expected to progress fast. The stock has been an outperformer more so in the last one month and trades at a trailing twelve month price to earning multiple of 27 times.