Benchmarks trade in range; India VIX down 3.44%

The equity barometers firmed up early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 109.99 points or 0.23% at 48,284.05. The Nifty 50 index gained 43.75 points or 0.31% at 14,190.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.07%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,980 shares rose and 900 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 3.44% to 20.2725. The Nifty January 2021 futures were trading at 14,233, at a premium of 40.45 point compared with the spot at 14,192.55.

The Nifty option chain for 28 January 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 19.28 lakh contracts at the 14,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 25.81 lakh contracts was seen at 12,500 strike price.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported that currency in circulation contracted by 0.3% on the week to stand at Rs 27.70 lakh crore as on 1 January 2021. The central bank stated further that the overall reserve money rose by 0.2% on the week to Rs 33.22 lakh crore. Currency in circulation rose around 22.1% on a year ago basis compared to 11.8% growth at the same time last year. In the current fiscal, the currency in circulation has expanded by 13.2% so far while the reserve money has increased by 9.7%.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,71,86,540 with 18,83,761 deaths. India reported 2,28,083 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,50,336 deaths while 1,00,16,859 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Total coronavirus (COVID-19) recoveries in India crossed the 1-crore mark with over 1.50 lakh deaths on Thursday.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.02% to 9,474.80.

Bharat Forge (up 8.47%), Ashok Leyland (up 5.52%), Bosch (up 2.43%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.41%) and Exide Industries (up 1.63%) jumped.

Maruti Suzuki India gained 0.04%. The automobile maker said its total production increased by 33.79% to 1,55,127 units in December 2020 from 1,15,949 units produced in December 2019. Total passenger vehicle production rose by 33.5% to 1,53,475 units in December 2020 from 1,14,962 units in December 2019. Production of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) jumped by 67.3% to 1,652 units in December 2020 over December 2019.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin rose 0.71%. The drug major announced that it has received approval for its Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim Oral Suspension USP from the USFDA. The drug is a generic equivalent of Bactrim Oral Suspension of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. It is indicated for the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of bacterial infections (such as middle ear, urine, respiratory, and intestinal infections), and certain type of pneumonia (pneumocystis-type). The product (RLD: Bactrim) had estimated annual sales of approximately $19 million in the U.S. (IQVIA MAT September 2020).

NCL Industries soared 6.33% after the company said its cement production increased 50% to 6,32,746 metric tonnes (MT) in Q3 FY21 from 4,23,199 in Q3 FY20. Sequentially, the cement production rose 2.89% in Q3 FY21 from 6,14,975 MT in Q2 FY21.

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