Barometers trade with modest losses

The Sensex and the Nifty were trading in a narrow band with modest losses in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 233.47 points or 0.59% at 39,368.16. The Nifty 50 index was down 54.45 points or 0.46% at 11,777.25.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.29%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.10%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1052 shares rose and 1136 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.

Indiabulls Housing Finance was up 1.28% to Rs 607.60 while Lakshmi Vilas Bank hit upper circuit and was up 9.96% to Rs 63.50 after the companies announced a scheme of amalgamation of Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBH) and Indiabulls Commercial Credit (ICCL) with Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB). The amalgamation was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The scheme of amalgamation remains subject to receipt of applicable regulatory and other approvals.

Realty stocks were mixed. Sobha (6.91%), Godrej Properties (down 2.4%), Sunteck Realty (down 1.53%), Phoenix Mills (down 0.49%), DLF (down 0.28%) and Prestige Estates Projects (down 0.19%), edged lower. Oberoi Realty (up 4.73%), Anant Raj (up 1.91%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.66%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 0.36%) and Omaxe (up 0.07%), edged higher.

Shares of most public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) declined as Brent crude oil price firmed up. Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.47%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 0.42%), declined. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was up 0.26%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2019 settlement was down 22 cents at $64.23 a barrel. The contract jumped $2.63, or 4.08% to settle at $64.45 a barrel during the previous trading session after Iran shot down a US military drone, creating tensions in middle east.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.3% at 14.3225.

On the options front, Nifty option chain for 27 June 2019 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 36.30 lakh contracts at the 12000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 40.03 lakh contracts was seen at 11700 strike price.

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