Indices trade with limited losses; PSU banks in demand

The domestic equity benchmarks continued to trade with limited losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,850 level after hitting day's high at 17,876.95 in the mid-morning trade. PSU bank stocks witnessed across the board buying.

At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 190.54 points or 0.31% to 60,615.68. The Nifty 50 index declined 52.55 points or 0.29% to 17,840.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.04% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.67%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,893 shares rose and 1,418 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.82% to 12.80. The Nifty 23 February 2023 futures were trading at 17,861, at a premium of 20.1 points as compared with the spot at 17,840.90.

The Nifty option chain for the 23 February 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 36.9 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 38.7 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.30% to 3,954.25. The index had declined 0.09% to end at 3,903.55 yesterday.

Punjab & Sind Bank (up 6.45%), Central Bank of India (up 2.57%), Union Bank of India (up 2.14%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.8%) and Canara Bank (up 1.33%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.29%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.27%), UCO Bank (up 1.27%), Bank of Baroda (up 1.12%) and State Bank of India (up 0.89%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Lupin tumbled 4.33%. The company reported 71.9% drop in net profit to Rs 153.5 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 545.5 crore in Q3 FY22. Sales rose by 3.8% YoY to Rs 4,244.6 crore during the quarter.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) gained 0.14%. The company reported 23.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,155.19 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared to Rs 933.40 crore posted in Q3 FY22.

Adani Total Gas was locked in 5% lower circuit. The company's standalone net profit rose 12.8% to Rs 148.39 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 131.58 crore reported in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) was at Rs 1,105.56 crore in Q3 FY23, registering a growth of 25.2% as against Rs 883.27 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News