Benchmarks turn range bound; India VIX down 2.06%

Key barometers traded sideways near the day's high with decent gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 257.39 points or 0.68% at 38,328.52. The Nifty 50 index added 70.75 points or 0.63% at 11,273.15.

Shares across Asia got a boost after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero to support the country's virus-battered economy, sending the dollar to a two-year trough.

Sentiment also improved after the Indian government issued its latest 'Unlock 3' guidelines aimed at continuing some restrictions on people's movement while easing curbs on others.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.58%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1216 shares rose and 1175 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 352.62 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 505.62 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 July, provisional data showed.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.06% to 23.615. The Nifty July 2020 futures were trading at 11,282.20, at a premium of 3.1 points compared with the spot at 11,279.10.

On the monthly index options front, the Nifty option chain for 30 July 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 84.94 lakh contracts at the 11,300 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 85.94 lakh contracts was seen at 11,200 strike price.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 17,031,281 with 667,060 deaths. India reported 5,28,242 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 34,968 deaths while 10,20,582 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Unlock 3.0 guidelines:

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 29 July issued new guidelines for opening up of more activities in areas outside containment zones, as a part of Unlock 3.0, which will come into effect from 1 August. The Centre directed the states governments to allow/prohibit activities outside containment zones after proper assessment of the situation. As per the guidelines, yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from 5 August 2020. Schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till 31 August 2020.

Sebi Regulation:

Market regulator Sebi on Wednesday gave relaxation of one month till 15 September to listed companies for submitting their June quarter results amid coronavirus pandemic.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index gained 1.56% to 18,158.60, resuming its upward trend after yesterday's pause.

Mindtree (up 3.19%), Wipro (up 2.45%), HCL Tech (up 2.2%), TCS (up 2.19%), NIIT Tech (up 1.74%) and Infosys (up 1.43%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ONGC rose 0.31%. The state run firm said it will issue unsecured, redeemable, non-cumulative, taxable, non-convertible debentures (NCD) aggregating to Rs 500 crore on private placement basis.

Navin Fluorine International fell 2.07%. The company reported 29.88% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 56.03 crore on 2.81% fall in total income to Rs 251.13 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. The company said revenue was impacted due to temporary suspension of Manufacturing facilities on the back of nationwide lockdown. High Value Business performance continued to perform well despite challenges. The company assured that despite challenges in business during Q1, able to maintain EBITDA at 25%. Operating EBITDA declined 12% to Rs 53.8 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

Security and Intelligence Services (India) lost 1.73% to Rs 356 after the company's consolidated net profit dropped 23.9% to Rs 57.10 crore on 7.9% rise in net sales to Rs 2,166.73 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Revenue from the domestic security solutions business stood at Rs 858 crore (up 6.2% YoY), International security solutions business generated revenue of Rs 1020 crore (up 11.7% YoY) and revenues from facilities management were at Rs 293 crore (up 1% YoY) during the quarter. The company's other expense jumped 51.6% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 342.13 crore in Q1 FY21. EBITDA fell 3.1% to Rs 120.9 crore in Q1 FY21 from Rs 124.70 crore in Q1 FY20. EBITDA margin stood at 5.6% as on 30 June 2020 as against 6.2% as on 30 June 2019.

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