Domestic barometers trade sideways near the flat line in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered at 14,550 level. FMCG, IT and pharma stocks were in demand while auto, metal and realty shares witnessed selling.
At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 2.5 points at 49,219.05. The Nifty 50 index remained almost unchanged at 14,557.25
The broader market underperformed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.36% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.09%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 821 shares rose and 1905 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, gained 4.15% to 20.915. The Nifty 25 March 2021 futures were trading at 14,524.75, at a discount of 6.7 points as compared with the spot at 14,531.45.
The Nifty option chain for 25 March 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 45.1 lakh contracts at the 16,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 41.3 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.
COVID-19 Update:
The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Friday announced that it will make the Rapid Antigen Test facility to take samples for coronavirus testing compulsory for all malls in Mumbai. On March 18, Mumbai recorded 2877 new cases and 8 deaths.
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 121,731,658 with 2,690,663 deaths. India reported 271,282 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 159,370 deaths while 110,83,679 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index slipped 1.4% to 10,001, extending its losing run to third trading session. The index lost 3.3% in three days.
Motherson Sumi Systems (down 3.01%), Tata Motors (down 2.2%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.18%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.83%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.36%), Exide Industries (down 0.88%), Eicher Motors (down 0.43%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.39%) and Escorts (down 0.29%) were top losers in automobile space.
Stocks in Spotlight:
GOCL Corp rose 0.34%. The board of GOCL Corporation approved raising upto Rs 250 crore through private placement of unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
Minda Industries fell 1.23%. The company has issued the commercial paper of Rs 50 crore with allotment date 18 March 2021 and due for maturity on 16 June 2021. "This is in line with the management efforts to bring down the finance cost," the company said in a statement after trading hours yesterday, 18 March 2021.
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