Key benchmarks trade with limited gains; oil & gas shares in demand

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with the limited gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,050 mark. Oil & gas shares witnessed across the board buying.

At 12:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 252.01 points or 0.44% to 57,880.96. The Nifty 50 index added 72.80 points or 0.43% to 17,061.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.31% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.42%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1955 shares rose and 1363 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

Investors look ahead to the outcome of US Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled tomorrow, to see how the central bank will proceed in its fight against inflation in light of the shakeup in the banking sector.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.95% to 15.54. The Nifty 29 March 2023 futures were trading at 17,099, at a premium of 37.8 points as compared with the spot at 17,061.20.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 March 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 37.8 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 60.3 lakh contracts were seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index rose 1.02% to 7,151.55. The index had declined 0.54% to end at 7,151.55.

Adani Total Gas (up 3.41%), Reliance Industries (up 2.68%), Gujarat Gas (up 2.45%), Indraprastha Gas (up 2.45%) and Aegis Logistics (up 1.58%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Mahanagar Gas (up 1.45%), Castrol India (up 0.74%) and Gujarat State Petronet (up 0.54%).

On the other hand, GAIL (India) (down 4.51%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.3%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 1.29%) turned lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NTPC rose 0.28%. The company said that its wholly owned subsidiary, NTPC Green Energy (NGEL) signed a joint venture agreement with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) for setting up of renewable energy projects to meet round the clock power requirement of IOCL refineries.

UNO Minda shed 0.60%. The company said that its board has approved the acquisition of 81.69 % stake in Kosei Minda Aluminum Company (KMA) and 49.90% stake in Kosei Minda Mould (KMM) from joint venture partner Kosei, Japan.

Supreme Industries lost 0.42%. The company said that CRISIL Ratings has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL AA+/Stable/CRISIL A1+' ratings on the bank facilities and commercial paper programme of the company.

Zydus Lifesciences added 0.65%. The company said that the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has granted 'orphan drug designation' (ODD) to ZYIL1, for treatment of patients with Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS).

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