Sensex, Nifty hit day's low; IT stocks buck trend

Key benchmark indices reversed morning trend and hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The Nifty once again slipped below the 12,000 mark. At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 78.1 points or 0.19% at 40,597.35. The Nifty 50 index was down 21.95 points or 0.18% at 11,972.25.

Selling was triggered by negative global cues after U.S. President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China might have to wait until after the 2020 presidential election. Fresh U.S. tariffs on Argentina and Brazil as well as threatened duties on French goods also spoiled trading sentiment. Investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India's policy statement on Thursday and details of the Union cabinet meeting today.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.12%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.05%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1021 shares rose and 1104 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 24 stocks advanced while 26 stocks declined.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, spurted 2.55% to 14.935. The Nifty December 2019 futures were trading at 12,029.30, a premium of 52.65 points compared with the spot at 11,976.65.

On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 26 December 2019 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 19.34 lakh contracts at the 12,500 strike price. Call writing was witnessed at 12,000 strike price, which added 1.53 lakh contracts.

Maximum put OI of 32.22 lakh contracts was seen at 12,000 strike price. Put writing was seen at the 11,900 strike price, which added 92,250 contracts.

The option chain indicates that Nifty will stay between 12,000 and 12,500 till December expiry, 26 December 2019.

Buzzing Index:

IT stocks surged after Indian Rupee edged lower for third day in a row. In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.7775, compared with its close of 71.6675 during the previous trading session.

The Nifty IT index was up 0.91% at 15,057.05. MindTree (up 3.94%), Hexaware Technologies (up 2.45%), Mphasis (up 1.89%), Zensar Technologies (up 1.73%), NIIT Tech (up 1.43%), Wipro (up 1.39%), Infosys (up 0.81%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.48%) and TCS (up 0.39%) were top gainers in IT segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was trading 1.72% lower at Rs 1290.90. L&T announced that the construction arm of the company has "significant" secured orders from prestigious clients across various Indian states for its varied businesses. The power transmission and distribution of L&T has secured various orders both in India and overseas. As per the company's classification, the valuation of the significant orders received lies between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 crore.

Natco Pharma was up 1.46%. The pharmaceutical company completed the investment of Rs 5 crore in OMRV Hospitals in the form of 5 ,00,000, 0.05% Compulsory Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares (CCCPS) under Private Placement. The company will be holding 12.81% of the shares on a fully diluted basis of Share Capital of OMRV Hospitals.

Punjab and Sindh Bank was down 0.25% at Rs 20. The bank said that its board will meet on 6 December 2019 to revalidate the approval of QIP for a further period of twelve months. The QIP will be issued for Rs 500 crore.

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