POINTLESS

The benchmark indices opened on a flat note and continued trade rangebound for the initial two hours and at one point of time the markets briefly entered the negative zone, but form that point onwards the markets started rising slowly and with every passing hour the markets gradually strengthened and ultimately both the indices closed very near to their highest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 36 and 137 points respectively. The market breadth also managed to close in the positive with 824 advances to 694 declines. On the sectoral front the FMCG sector was the biggest gainer followed by the Banking, Energy and Infra sectors, while the IT sector was the biggest loser for the day. On the individual stocks front, JP Associates, LT, Bharti Airtel, M&M & DLF were the top five Nifty gainers, while Ranbaxy, Power Grid, GAIL, Infosys & Siemens were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, there was hardly any activity, with both FIIs and DIIs turning net buyers to the tune of 106 & 25 crores respectively in the cash markets.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net buyers in Index futures to the tune of just 1 crore, while they were net sellers in Index Options to the tune of 1303 crores, and they were net buyers in both Stock futures and Options to the tune of 1149 and 187 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5798 with just 1 point premium to the spot, along with a considerable loss of open interest, while the Nifty March future settled at 28 points premium to the spot along with a massive addition of open interest. On the Options side PCR stood at 0.80, along with a fall of 6.51% in the India VIX. On the Call options side, except the 5900 & 6000 call there was uniform loss of open interest from the 5000 to 6200 calls, while on the Put options side, there was uniform loss of open interest from the 5000 to 6200 puts. In the March series the 6000 call has added the maximum open interest followed by the 6100, 6200 & 5900 calls, while on the Put options side the 5800 put has added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5700, 5600 & 5900 puts. The entire activity in the cash market was stock specific, while in the F&O side, it was mainly rollover activity which dominated the entire session.

On the technical side, Nifty somehow managed to close in the positive mainly on the back of short positions being squared off and rolled over to the next series and the positive close should be just seen as a F&O led pullback with no support from the institutional side. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be, 5826, 5856 on the upside and 5757, 5718 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee rose today, on optimism that the government will deliver a fiscally disciplined budget, attracting more foreign flows in to the country. The Rupee finally closed at 53.86, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.17 for the day. 

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a mixed note while the European markets have closed on a positive note and the U.S. markets are trading in the green amid economic optimism after better than estimated housing data. On the Energy futures front, the Brent crude oil future is trading almost flat 112.44 $/bbl while the WTI crude oil future is trading up by 0.31 % at 92.92 $/bbl and the Natural gas future is trading up by 1.69% at 3.51 $/MMBtu.

DESPAIR

The markets opened on an extremely negative note and traded rangebound for the entire first half of the trading session, but the just at the start of the second half of the trading session the markets started falling with ferocity and ultimately both the indices closed with deep losses near their lowest point of the day. The market breadth also turned extremely negative with 265 advances to 1266 declines.  The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 93 and 316 points respectively. On the sectoral front, the Energy sector was the biggest loser ogainer for the day. On the individual stocks front Bharti Airtel, TCS, Infosys, Grasim & NTPC were the top five Nifty gainers, while Hindalco, Baja Auto , Ranbaxy, HDFC & Ranbaxy were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 75 crores, while DIIs were net sellers to the 85tune of  161 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 1271 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 685 crores, on the other hand they were net buyers in Stock futures to the tune of 408 crores and net sellers in stock options to the tune of mere 8 crores only. Nifty future settled at 5767 with just 6 points premium to the spot, along with a considerable loss of open interest. On the Options side, PCR stood at 0.76, along with a rise in the India VIX by 3.77%. On the Call options side the 5800 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5900 & 5700 calls, while the 6100 call lost the maximum open interest followed by the 6200 & 6000 calls. On the Put options side, the 5900 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 5800 & 6000 puts. The entire activity in the Cash market saw across the sector selling , while in the F&O sector it was more typical of an activity just before expiry, but still the on the Call options side, there was massive call writing in in- the -money calls , while on the Put options side, there was profit booking.

On the technical side, Nifty has broken all its short and medium term support levels amidst a bout of risk aversion in the global markets, and there seems to be no let up in the downward momentum as investors were not enthused by the Railway budget and the markets are not expecting any big announcements from the Federal budget on the 28^th of this month and the uncertainty regarding the elections in Italy is sending tremors in the global market, as a result a clutch of these factors, will keep the sentiments subdued for the next few sessions. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5816, 5840 on the upside and 5726, 5692, 5636 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee weakened today, hit by a global sell off of risk assets and month end dollar demand from importers. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 54.09, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.43 for the day.

On the international markets, the Asian and the European markets have closed in a deep sea of red , while the U.S. markets have gained amid better than estimated  housing and consumer confidence data. On the Energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 1.31 & 0.52 % at 112.94 & 92.60 $/bbl respectively, and the Natural gas future is also trading down by 0.76% at 3.44 $/MMBtu.

CARNAGE

The markets opened with a gap down closely tracking their Asian peers and overnight weakness in the U.S. markets. It was across the sector selling, right from the beginning and things became worse as the session progressed and ultimately both the indices closed at their lowest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 91 and 317 points respectively. The market breadth was also extremely negative with 316 advances to 1202 declines. On the sectoral front the Banking sector was the biggest loser followed by the FMCG, Energy, Metals and Auto sectors. On the individual stocks front,  Cipla, Gail & Bajaj Auto were the only Nifty stocks which managed to close in the positive, while Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, JP Associate, ICICI Bank & Sesa Goa were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, surprisingly the FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 1214 crores while the DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 229 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 486 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 138 crores and they were net buyers in both Stock futures and Options to the tune of 83 and 148 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5853, with just 1 point premium to the spot, along with a marginal increase in open interest. On the Options side PCR stood at 0.98, along with a massive rise in the India VIX by 8.59%. On the Call options side, the 6000 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5900, 5800 & 6100 calls, while the 6200 call lost the maximum open interest. On the Put options side, the 5600 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5800 & 5500 puts, while the 5900 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 6000 & 6100 puts. The entire activity in the cash markets saw uniform across the sector selling, while in the F&O space massive call writing took place accompanied by addition of longs on the put options side which increased the ferocity of the fall.

On the technical side, after two consecutive sessions of successful moves above the 5900 mark, surprisingly Nifty gave away all its gains amidst a global sell off in equities and other asset classes but managed to close at another crucial support of 5850. The data in the F&O side along with the carnage in the international markets suggest a further sell off may happen from this level and the levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5903, 5914 on the upside and 5823, 5795, 5746 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee fell its most in two and a half months as global risk aversion pushed local stocks sharply lower, with the currency awaiting cues from the federal budget next week. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 54.47, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.55 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian and the European markets have closed deep in the red, and the U.S. stocks are also going the same way after Federal Reserve minutes showed that policy makers backed more flexibility in stimulus as investors weighed corporate earnings. On the energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 1.5 & 2.34% at 113.81 and 93 $/bbl and the Natural gas future is also trading down by 1.05% at 3.24 $/MMBtu.

DECEPTION

The markets opened on a flat note but continued to trade with a positive bias throughout the trading session, but ultimately both the indices closed on a flat note. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 3 and 7 points respectively. The market breadth was marginally positive with 787 advances to 697 declines. On the sectoral front, there was hardly any activity, but still the FMCG sector was the biggest loser followed by the Banking sector, while the Energy sector was the biggest gainer for the day. On the individual stocks front, DLF, Ambuja Cement, Reliance, BPCL & HCL Tech were the top five Nifty gainers while IDFC, Tata Steel, Cipla, Jindal Steel & Bharti Airtel were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the Institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 433 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 591 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net buyers in Index futures and Options to the tune of 365 and 133 crores respectively, and net buyers in Stock futures and options to the tune of 128 and 51 crores respectively. Nifty futures settled at 5964 with 21 points premium to the spot along with a marginal increase in open interest. On the options side PCR stood at 1.01, along with a fall in the India VIX by 1.33%.  On the Call options side, the 6200 call added the maximum open interest, while the 5800 call lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 6000 call. On the Put options side, the 5700 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 5600 & 5900 & 6200 puts. The entire activity in the Cash markets was once again stock specific, while in the F&O space profit booking took place in both the call and put options side, which kept the markets in the green.

On the technical side, once again Nifty managed to close convincingly above the 5900 mark on rising volumes, prompting the participants to square of some of their short positions. In such situation the levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5963, 5984 on the upside and 5923, 5906 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee gained its most in two weeks, today largely aided by inflows related to a debt auction. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 54.07, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.18 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a relatively positive note, while the European markets have closed on a weak note and U.S. stocks are also trading with losses as investors weighed lower than expected housing starts data. On the Energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 1.55 & 2.22% at 115.69 & 94.92 $/bbl respectively. On the other hand Natural gas future is trading up by 0.47% at 3.28 $/MMBtu.

SURPRISED

The markets opened on a very flat note and traded almost flat for greater part of the trading session, but with just one and a half hour left for the end of day’s session the markets started rising almost vertically and ultimately both the indices closed at their highest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 41 and 135 points respectively. On the sectoral front, the FMCG sector was the biggest gainer followed by the IT, Pharma & Banking sectors. On the individual stocks front, ONGC, DLF, ACC, Ranbaxy & BHEL were the top five Nifty gainers while Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp & Jindal Steel were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, there was hardly any activity with FIIs turning net sellers to the tune of 181 crores while DIIs were net buyers to the tune of 25 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures  & Options to the tune of 421 and 146 crores respectively, while they were net buyers in Stock futures to the tune of 413 crores and net sellers in stock options to the tune of mere 10 crores. Nifty future settled at 5953, with 13 points premium to the spot along with a considerable increase in open interest. On the Options side PCR stood at 0.89, with a fall in the India VIX by 2.95%. On the Call options side, the 6000 call lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 5900 & 6100 calls while the 6200 call added the maximum open interest. On the Put options side the 5600 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 5500, 6100 & 5700 puts while the 5900 put added the maximum open interest.  The entire activity in the cash markets saw sector specific buying, while in the F&O space there was short covering in the options space due to the sudden rise in the markets.

On the technical side, once again Nifty managed to close above the psychological mark of 5900, raising hopes that we may see some upside but the rise was more due to short covering in the F&O space rather than real buying in the cash markets. Therefore the levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5963 & 5987 on the upside and 5899 & 5867 on the downside. On the currency front the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.23 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a  negative note, while the European markets have closed on a strongly positive note and the U.S. markets are also trading with modest gains. On the Energy futures front,  both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 0.41 & 0.07% at 116.89 & 96.35 $/bbl respectively while the Natural gas future is trading up by 3.79% at 3.27 $/MMBtu.

LISTLESS

The markets opened on a very flat note but the markets gained strength as the session progressed and with just one hour left for the end of the session, the markets touched their intraday highs, but surprisingly from this point onwards the markets started losing all their gains and ultimately both the indices closed almost flat. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 11 and 33 points respectively. The market breadth however closed on a positive note with 906 advances to 592 declines. There was hardly any activity on the sectoral front, with most of the sectors closing on a flat note. On the individual stocks front, DLF, JP Associate, Power Grid, Tata Steel & Reliance Infra were the top five Nifty gainers while Jindal Steel, Coal India, ONGC, Ultratech Cement & Bajaj Auto were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, also there was very little activity with FIIs turning net buyers to the tune of 143 crores and DIIs turning net sellers to the tune of 110 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 415 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 105 crores, while they were net buyers in Stock futures and Options to the tune of 387 and 60 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5905 with just 7 points premium to the spot along with a considerable increase in open interest. On the options side PCR stood at 0.86, along with a massive jump in the India VIX by 6.89%. On the Call options side, the 6000 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6200, 6100 & 5900 calls, while on the Put options side, the 5600 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5500 put  on the other hand the 5700 put lost the maximum open interest followed by the 5900, 6000 & 6100 puts. The entire activity in the cash market was once again stock specific, while on the F&O side more shorts were added in the Index futures and options along with some profit booking on the put options side.

On the technical side Nifty could not close above the 5900 mark, for the third consecutive session and although the index seems to be trading sideways, the underlying market breadth is becoming weaker day by day, and the levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5913 & 5928 on the upside and 5880 & 5860 on the downside. On the currency front the Rupee came off its lows to end higher today, as late inflows related to foreign funds selling dollars outweighed demand from oil importers. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 54.18 while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.31 for the day.

On the International markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a mixed note, while the European markets have closed almost flat and the U.S. markets are trading almost flat. On the Energy futures front, the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 0.49 & 0.55% at 117.08 & 95.88 $/bbl respectively, while the Natural Gas future is trading up by 0.51% at 3.16 $/MMBtu. 

WORSE

The markets opened on a very negative note and as the session progressed the market breadth worsened and with just one and a half hour left for the end of the session the markets touched their day’s low but dramatically from this point onwards the markets made an almost V shaped recovery and recovered their entire losses for the day before falling once again to close almost flat till the end of the session. The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 9 and 29 points respectively for the day. The market breadth was also extremely negative with 595 advances to 915 declines. On the sectoral front, there was hardly any activity with most of the sectors closing almost flat or in the negative. On the individual stocks front, Tata Motors, IDFC, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel & Gail were the top five Nifty gainers, while Dr. Reddy, Cairn, DLF, BPCL & Bajaj Auto were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 247 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 246 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 743 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 719 crores on the other hand they were net buyers in Stock futures and Options to the tune of 125 and 113 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5892 with just 5 points premium to the spot along with a considerable increase in open interest. On the Options side PCR stood at 0.83, along with a marginal increase in India VIX by 0.99%.  On the Call options side, the 6000 call added the maximum open interest followed by the 5900 & 6100 calls, while on the Put options side, the 5400 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5500 & 5300 puts, while 5900 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 6000 & 5700 puts. The entire activity in the cash markets was stock specific while in the F&O space the market participants continued to add to their short positions in both Index futures and options.

On the technical side, Nifty has clearly broken the 5900 level for the second consecutive session and with the levels of shorts increasing in the system, we may see more downside in the day’s to come. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5906 and 5925 on the upside and 5860 and 5835 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee fell to its lowest level of the month on Friday, hurt by weaker local shares and slump in the euro following weak economic growth data. The Rupee finally closed at 54.22 while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.33 for the week.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets closed on a mixed note, while the European and U.S. markets closed on a very flat note for the week. On the energy futures side, both Brent & WTI crude oil futures have closed down by 0.29 & 1.49% at 117.66 & 95.86 $/bbl respectively, while the Natural gas future has closed down by 0.32% at 3.15 $/MMBtu.

SOMBRE

The markets opened on an absolutely flat note, but immediately entered the negative zone and traded rangebound till the start of the second half of the trading session, but post that point onwards, the markets started falling with ferocity and ultimately both the indices ended deep in the red, at their lowest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 36 and 111 points respectively. On the sectoral front, the Energy sector was the biggest loser followed by the Midcap, Banking, Auto & Pharma sectors. On the individual stocks front the GAIL, Hind Unilever, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel & Asian Paint were the top five Nifty gainers while Siemens, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, BPCL & Wipro were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 321 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 289 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of  390 crores and net buyers in Index Options to the tune of 289 crores, while they were net buyers in Stock futures and Options to the tune of 339 & 66.68 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5900 with mere 3 points premium to the spot along with a considerable increase in open interest. On the Options side, PCR stood at 0.96, along with a marginal fall in the India VIX by 0.33%. On the Call options side the 6000 call added the maximum open interest followed by the 5900, 6100 & 5800 calls, while the 6200 call lost the maximum open interest. On the Put options side the 5600 put lost the maximum open interest followed by the 6000, 5900 & 6100 calls, while the 5500 put added the maximum open interest. The entire activity in the cash markets saw across the sector selling while in the F&O space the FIIs continued to add on to their short positions in index futures and options.

On the technical side, Nifty had been holding on to the 5900 mark for the last two session but could not do the same today and finally closed just below that level once again, confirming the downtrend which has set in more than two weeks back. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5929 & 5963 on the upside and 5873 & 5856 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee fell today tracking losses in the domestic market but dollar demand from oil refiners was largely met by supply from exporters, preventing further slide. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.92 for the day, and the USD-INR future settled at 54.05 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a positive note while the European markets have ended in the red and U.S. stocks are trading little changed after paring earlier losses, as drop in jobless claims as Warren Buffet’s deal for H.J. Heinz Co. tempered concern over shrinking economies in Europe and Japan. On the energy futures front, both Brent and WTI crude oil futures traded almost flat at 117.97 and 97.42 $/bbl respectively, while the Natural gas futures is trading down by 4.28% at 3.16 $/MMBtu.

SIDEWAYS

The markets opened on a positive note and touched their intraday highs within the initial one hour of trade and continued to trade rangebound for the entire first half of the trading session, but just at the start of the second half of the trading session, the markets started losing their momentum and ultimately lost all their gains and closed almost flat till the end of the session. The market breadth also turned extremely negative with 556 advances to 880 declines. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 10 and 47 points respectively. On the individual stocks front, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, HDFC, ONGC and M&M were the top five Nifty gainers while Rel Infra, Tata Power, Sesa Goa, Bajaj Auto & Power Grid were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 800 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 290 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net buyers in Index futures and Options to the tune of 152 and 645 crores while they were net buyers in Stock futures to the tune of 911 crores and net sellers in Stock options to the tune of 19.51 crores. Nifty future settled at 5936, with just 3 points premium to the spot, with a marginal increase in open interest. On the Options side, PCR stood at 1.05 along with a fall in the India VIX by 1.11%. On the Call options side, the 6200 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6100 & 5900 calls, while the 6000 call lost the maximum open interest. On the Put options side, the 5900 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5700 put, while the 5600 put lost the maximum open interest, followed by the 5800 and 6000 puts. The entire activity in the cash markets was stock specific while in the F&O space there was some profit booking along with Call writing at the higher levels of the market.

On the technical side, once again Nifty managed to hold on to the 5900 mark, albeit with very modest gains, but the underlying market breadth was very weak, indicating that the modest gains were due to some short covering on the options side. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5966 an 5988 on the upside and 5913 & 5894 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee strengthened today, as domestic shares gained and domestic trade deficit did not widen as much as some analysts had feared. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.82, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 53.96 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a mixed note, while the European markets have closed on a positive note and the U.S. markets markets are trading with minor losses. On the energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading almost flat at 117.72 & 97.39 $/bbl respectively while the Natural Gas future is trading up by 2.60% at 3.31 $/MMBtu

WAIT AND WATCH

The benchmark indices opened on an absolutely flat and traded rangebound for the entire first half of the trading session, but at the start of the second half of the trading session the markets  gradually started rising and ultimately both the indices closed near their highest point of the day. The market breadth however remained negative with 556 advances to 931 declines. The Nifty and the Sensex closed up by 25 and 100 points respectively. On the sectoral front, the Energy sector was the biggest gainer followed by the Banking and FMCG sectors. On the individual stocks front, ONGC, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tata Motors & Coal India were the top five Nifty gainers while Jindal Steel, IDFC, ACC, DLF & Infosys were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 604 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 412 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in both Index futures and Options to the tune of 236 and 28 crores respectively, while they were net buyers in Stock futures and Options to the tune of 171 and 25 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5941, with 19 points premium to the spot, along with a marginal increase in open interest. On the options side, PCR stood at 0.98 along with a fall in the India VIX by 2.17%. On the Call options side there was hardly any activity with marginal decrease in open interest in the 6000 call followed by the 6100 & 6200 calls, while the 5800 call added the maximum open interest. On the Put options side, the 5700 put added the maximum open interest followed by the 5900 & 6000 puts, while the 5600 put lost the maximum open interest followed by the 6100, 5800 & 6200 puts. The entire activity in the cash market was sector specific while in the F&O space there was some short covering, which helped the markets recover till the end of the session.

On the technical side, Nifty managed to hold on to the 5900 mark, but the underlying market breadth indicates all is not well and the selling pressure may resume due to the depressing news on the domestic front. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5937 & 5952 on the upside and 5896 & 5870 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee ended almost steady as data showed a contraction in industrial output and continued high consumer inflation raised uncertainty about how aggressively the central bank would cut interest rates this year. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.85, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 54.04 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a mixed note while the European markets have closed on a very strong note and the U.S markets are trading almost flat, as investors watch corporate earnings before the President’s State of the Union Address. On the Energy futures front, both Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading almost flat at 117.33 and 97.50 $/bbl respectively, while the Natural gas future is trading down by 1.02% at 3.24 $/MMBtu.

SLUGGISH

The markets opened on a mildly positive note and traded with a positive bias throughout the entire trading and ultimately closed on an almost flat note. The market breadth was evenly poised with 761 advances to 731 declines. On the sectoral front there was hardly any activity, but still the Banking sector was the biggest loser for the day. On the individual stocks front Jindal Steel, Kotak Bank, Ambuja Cement, Ultratech Cement & Maruti were the top five Nifty gainers for the day, while JP Associate, NTPC, Coal India, Hind Unilever & Siemens were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 1138 crores while the DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 1224 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 564 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 503 crores, while they were net buyers in Stock futures to the tune of 602 crores and net sellers in stock options to the tune of 156 crores. Nifty future settled at 5973 with just 14 points premium to the spot along with a marginal decrease in open interest. On the options side, PCR stood at 0.83, along with a decrease in India VIX by 2.40%. On the Call options side, the 6200 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6100, 6000 & 5900 calls while on the Put options side, the 5700 put added the maximum open interest followed by the 5800 & 5900 puts. The entire activity in the cash market was once again stock specific while in the F&O space Call writing continued at the higher levels and long positions were added at the lower positions on the Put options side.

On the technical side, once again Nifty managed to close near the 5950 mark but the underlying market breadth is negative and it will be difficult to sustain this level in the day’s to come as profit booking continues in the cash market, along with shorts building up in the F&O space. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5981 and 6004 on the upside and 5944, 5930 & 5907 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee ended marginally lower today as continued weakness in local stock markets and oil refiner demand to meet crude payments outweighed dollar inflows ahead of the government’s stake sale in NTPC. The partially convertible rupee finally closed at 53.15 while the near month USD-INR future settled at 53.37 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a extremely strong note, while the European markets have closed in the red and U.S. stocks have pared losses as Apple Inc. pulled technogy shares higher tempering concern over Europe’s debt crisis before a gathering of Euro leaders tomorrow. On the Energy futures side, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading almost flat at 116.97 & 96.82 $/bbl, while the Natural gas future is trading up by 1.10% at 3.43 $?MMBtu.

DOWNTREND

The markets opened with a gap down and continued to trade with a strong negative bias throughout the entire trading session and ultimately both the indices closed very near to their lowest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 30 and 91 points respectively. The market breadth was also extremely negative with 433 advances to 1074 declines. On the sectoral front, the FMCG sector was the biggest loser for the day, followed by the Banking and Midcap sectors, while the Pharma sector was the sole gainer for the day. On the individual stocks front, Sun Pharma, Ambuja Cement, ACC, Ranbaxy & GAIL were the top five Nifty gainers, while JP Associate, BHEL, Bank of Baroda, Bharti Airtel & BPCL were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 489 crores, while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 1074 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 663 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 1278 crores, while they were net buyers in Stock futures to the tune of 184 crores and net sellers in stock options to the tune of mere 5 crores. Nifty future settled at 5974 with just 17 points premium to the spot along with a marginal decrease in open interest. On the Options side PCR stood at 0.95, along with a rise in the India VIX by 1.88%. On the Call options side, the 6000 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6100, 5900 & 6200 calls and on the Put option side, the 5600 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5900, 5700 & 5800 puts, while the 6000 put lost the maximum open interest. The entire activity in the cash markets was once again stock specific, while in the F&O space, the market participants continued to add on to their short positions adding misery to a already weak market.

On the technical side, Nifty closed precariously near to the psychological mark of 5950 and with profit booking happening in most of the sectors coupled with weak sentiments in the international markets, it makes the downside more probable. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 5968 & 5981 on the upside and 5920, 5895 & 5841 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee strengthened to its highest closing level in three and a half months today, helped by foreign inflows ahead of the government stake sale in NTPC, although weak domestic shares and demand for dollars from oil importers limited gains. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.13, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 53.35 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed deep in the red, while the European markets have closed on a positive note and the U.S. markets are also trading in the green on the back of better than forecast earnings. On the Energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading up by 1.27 & 0.70% at 117.06 & 96.87 $/bbl respectively and the Natural Gas future is also trading up by 1.25% at 3.35 $/MMBtu.

BREAKDOWN

The markets opened on a upbeat note on the back of positive opening of the Asian markets, but after the initial two hours of trade, the markets started losing momentum and with just one hour left for the end of the day’s session, the markets finally entered the negative zone and ultimately closed near their lowest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed almost flat, down by 11 and 30 points respectively. The market breadth  also turned negative with 525 advances to 978 declines. On the sectoral front, the Energy sector was the biggest loser followed by the Pharma, Midcap, Banking, & FMCG sectors. On the individual stocks front, Tata Motors, Ultratech Cement, HDFC, Asian Paint & DLF were the top five Nifty gainers while Bank of Baroda, IDFC, JP Associate, Ranbaxy & BHEL were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 857 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 592 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 710 crores and they were net buyers in Index options to the tune of 489 crores, while they were net buyers in Stock futures and Options to the tune of 376 and 7 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 5996 with the premium falling to just 9 points to the spot along with a modest increase in open interest. On the Options side, PCR fell to 0.86 along with a rise in the India VIX by 4.22%. On the Call options side, 6000 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6100, 6200 & 5900 calls, while on the Put Options side, the 5900 put added the maximum open interest, followed by the 5800 & 6000 puts. The entire activity in the cash market was once again stock specific, while in the F&O space, there were addition of shorts in the Index futures as well as options.

On the technical side, once again Nifty closed below the 6000 mark on falling volumes, and for the first time it seems that actually a trend change may happen if the situation doesn't improve over the next few sessions. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 6002 & 6023 on the upside and 5966, 5945 & 5909 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee fell today, hit by a fall in domestic shares, although the inflows from an upcoming government stake sale could support the local currency this week. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.28 for the day, while the near month USD-INR future settled at 53.47.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets have closed on a mixed note, while the European markets have closed deep in the red and the U.S. markets are also trading deep in the red on the back of renewed concerns about political uncertainty in Europe and less than forecasted rise in the U.S. factory orders. On the Energy futures front, both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures are trading down by 1.03 & 1.55% at 115.56 & 96.26 $/bbl respectively, while the Natural Gas future is trading up by 1.20% at 3.34 $/MMBtu.

CAUTIOUS

The markets started the February series on a very cautious note and after trading rangebound for the initial two hours of trade, the markets finally broke and from that point onwards there was no looking back and the market breadth deteriorated with every passing hour and finally the markets closed very near to their lowest point of the day. The Nifty and the Sensex closed down by 36 and 114 points respectively. The market breadth was also negative with 634 advances to 859 declines. On the sectoral front, the Banking sector was the biggest loser followed by the Auto and IT sectors. On the individual stocks front, BPCL, Cipla, Maruti, Dr. Reddy & Bajaj Auto were the top five Nifty gainers, while Tata Motors, JP Associate, DLF, Ultratech Cement & Bharti Airtel were the top five Nifty losers for the day. On the institutional side, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of 763 crores while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of 1088 crores in the cash market.

On the derivatives side, FIIs were net sellers in Index futures to the tune of 100 crores and net buyers in Index options to the tune of 1331 crores, while they were net sellers in both Stock futures and Options to the tune of 258 and 39 crores respectively. Nifty future settled at 6036 with 37 points premium to the spot along with a marginal increase in open interest. On the options side PCR stood at 1.05, along with a fall in the India VIX by 2.62%. On the Call options side, the 6100 call added the maximum open interest, followed by the 6000 & 6200 calls, while the 5900 call lost the maximum open interest followed by the 5800 call. On the Put options side, the 5700 put added the maximum open interest followed by the 6000, 5600 & 5900 puts. The entire activity in the cash markets was once again stock specific, while in the F&O space the Index future continued to add on to the long positions, while in the options space market participants continued to add positions according to the change in the market situation.

On the technical side, once again Nifty broke the 6000 mark, after four sessions of lackluster movement, but the fall was not convincing enough to start a big downslide, and further market moves will depend on the news from the corporate as well as the international markets. The levels to watch out for Nifty will be 6011, 6040 on the upside and 5970, 5941 & 5906 on the downside. On the currency front, the Rupee closed marginally stronger on Friday and strengthened for a fourth straight week with dollar inflows into the domestic share and debt markets boosting the local currency. The partially convertible Rupee finally closed at 53.19 while the near month USD-INR future settled at 53.42 for the day.

On the international markets front, the Asian markets closed on a mixed note while the European and U.S. markets closed on a very strong note. On the Energy futures front both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures closed up by 1.05 & 0.29% at 116.76 & 97.77 $/bbl while Natural Gas future closed down by 1.14% at 3.30 $/MMBtu.