Barometers turn rangebound; Nifty above 22,050 mark

The benchmark indices traded in a narrow range with decent gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,050 mark. IT shares witnessed selling pressure after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 197.75 points or 0.27% to 72,838.94. The Nifty 50 index rose 80.25 points or 0.36% to 22,092.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.04%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,462 shares rose and 1,170 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 0.27% to 12.55. The Nifty 28 March 2024 futures were trading at 22,135, at a premium of 42.8 points as compared with the spot at 22,092.20.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 March 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 81 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 126.1 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index slipped 2.16% to 35,250.15. The index rose 0.78% in the past trading session.

HCL Technologies (down 2.76%), Coforge (down 2.62%), Wipro (down 2.47%), Persistent Systems (down 2.3%), Infosys (down 2.27%), Mphasis (down 2.1%), LTIMindtree (down 1.98%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 1.43%), L&T Technology Services (down 1.32%) and Tech Mahindra (down 1%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) rose 1.42% after the company accepted the Mumbai Port Authority's 29-year lease for the allotment of land and building on a long-term lease basis for Rs 354 crore.

Bharat Dynamics gained 1.57% after the companys board approved an interim dividend of Rs 8.85 per equity share for the financial year 2023-24. Meanwhile, the board has also approved the sub-division/ split of existing one equity share into two equity shares, subject to shareholders' approval.

Subsequently, the firms board has accorded its consent to the appointment of G. Gayatri Prasad, general manager (finance) as the chief financial officer of the company, consequent to cessation of N. Srinivasulu as director (finance) and chief financial officer on 31 January 2024.

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