Indices trade sideways with major losses; metal stocks shine

Equity indices traded sideways with major losses in early afternoon trade. Soaring crude oil prices amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to spook investors. The Nifty hovered at 15,900 mark after hitting the day's low of 15,741.55 in the morning trade. Metal and IT shares bucked the weak market trend. However, banks, autos and financial stocks were under pressure.

At 12:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1,254 points or 2.31% at 53,078.18. The Nifty 50 index lost 342.45 points or 2.11% at 15,902.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.27% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.96%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 812 shares rose and 2,531 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May settlement was surged 9.68% at $129.54 a barrel. It has jumped 66% so far in calendar year 2022. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements. A spike in crude oil prices has raised concerns over the impact on inflation, currency and input cost for companies across sectors. Higher crude oil prices could increase India's expenditure and adversely affects the fiscal deficit.

Politics:

On the political front, the seventh and final phase of Uttar Pradesh elections 2022 began at 7 A.M. and will end at 6 P.M. today. This will conclude the fiercely contested polls held in five states. The results of exit polls for elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will be broadcast from 7 P.M. today, after the end of polling. Votes will be counted on 10 March 2022.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 3.95% to 29.0625. The Nifty 24 February 2022 futures were trading at 15,927.95, at a premium of 11.8 points as compared with the spot at 15,916.15.

The Nifty option chain for 31 March 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 20.2 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 39 lakh contracts was seen at 16,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index added 0.59% to 6,045.85, bucking weak market trend.

Hindalco Industries (up 4.09%), Vedanta (up 2.19%), Coal India (up 1.38%), NMDC (up 1.08%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.86%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Tata Steel (up 0.2%) and JSW Steel (up 0.17%).

Coal India rose 1.38% after the state-run coal major reported total coal supplies at 608.15 million tonnes (MTs) as of 4th March 2022. Coal India (CIL) said it has moved past the previous highest coal off-take of 608.14 MTs achieved in FY19. CIL chief Pramod Agrawal pointed out the "sustained efforts and inspired performance of CIL's subsidiaries and has written to them "to end FY22 on a sound note scaling even more highs."

Stocks in Spotlight:

Computer Age Management Services was down 0.88%. The company said that it has acquired a majority stake in Fintuple Technologies, a fintech start-up offering platform and API solutions for AIFs, PMSs, custodians and distributors. Founded in 2018, Fintuple is a new age start-up which has launched niche technology offerings in the areas of client digital on-boarding, eKYC, fund reports, and other support digital solutions for alternative investment funds (AIF) and portfolio managers (PMS).

J.K. Cement slumped 9%. The company said that its board has approved entering into Paint business through a wholly owned subsidiary. The wholly owned subsidiary would undertake manufacturing, selling, trading, importing and exporting and otherwise dealing in all types of paints and allied products and services. The board of directors has approved an investment of up to Rs 600 crore spread over the first 5 years in the paints business.

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