Indices witness volatility; metal stocks slide

Key barometers witnessed a dash of volatility in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 11,450 levels. At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 73.83 points or 0.19% at 38,672.82. The Nifty 50 index was up 6.3 points or 0.05% at 11,470.30. Trading was volatile ahead of expiry of weekly index options.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.46%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.2%.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1030 shares rose and 1080 shares fell and a total of 176 shares remained unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 22 stocks advanced while 28 stocks declined.

On the derivatives front, the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.83% to 16.06. The Nifty October 2019 futures were trading at 11,486.95, a premium of 19.9 points compared with the spot at 11,467.05.

On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 31 October 2019 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 24.05 lakh contracts at the 12,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 30.09 lakh contracts was seen at 11,000 strike price. The option chain indicates that Nifty will stay between 11,000 and 12,000 in October expiry.

Vodafone Idea was down 5.03%. The company's corporate bond maturing in January 2022 was reportedly offloaded on Wednesday at a sharp discount to its face value.

Metal stocks extended yesterday's losses. The Nifty Metal was trading 1.13% lower at 2361.25. Vedanta (down 2.74%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.45%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.26%), NMDC (down 1.51%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.37%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.32%) and Tata Steel (down 1.19%) tumbled.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) was down 3.96%. Nalco said that short supply of coal has severely impacted aluminium production of the company and also the cost of power, as the power purchased from the grid is costly as compared to the power produced by it at its captive power plant (CPP). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 October 2019.

Edelweiss Financial Services rose 4.1% to Rs 86.35. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Kora Master Fund LP investment of up to 10% ($75 million) in Edelweiss Securities. The notification relates to a proposed investment by Kora in Edelweiss Securities (ESL) and Edelweiss Global Investment Advisory Business (EGIA) subsidiaries of up to rupee equivalent to $75 million, as set out in the share subscription agreement. Kora is a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Its principal activity is that of investment holding and related activities.

On the BSE, 151 securities hit 52-week low which included names like Aditya Birla Capital (down 2.56%), Allahabad Bank (down 2.04%), Binani Industries (down 4.94%) and Gujarat Fluorochemicals (down 5%).

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