Sensex, Nifty trade with minor gains; NSE VIX hovers above 20 mark

The key equity indices were trading with minor gains in early afternoon trade amid positive global cues. Realty shares extended gains for second consecutive session. The Nifty was trading below the 15,250 mark.

At 12:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 226.87 points or 0.44% to 51,506.38. The Nifty 50 index added 58.75 points or 0.39% to 15,233.55.

Global investors cheered the European Central Bank (ECB)'s pledge to step up the pace of bond purchases to keep rising yields from derailing the European region's economic recovery. The ECB on Thursday said it would use its 1.85 trillion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) more generously over the coming months to stop any unwarranted rise in debt financing costs.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.60% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.92%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1662 shares rose and 1140 shares fell. A total of 198 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.50% to 20.23. The Nifty 25 March 2021 futures were trading at 15,274.20, at a premium of 40.65 points as compared with the spot at 15,233.55.

The Nifty option chain for 25 March 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 28.6 lakh contracts at the 16,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 27.9 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 118,545,934 with 2,629,240 deaths. India reported 1,97,237 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,58,306 deaths while 1,09,53,303 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index rose 0.58% to 354.30, extending gains for second day. The index has added 1.20% in two sessions while the benchmark Nifty has gained 0.97% during the same period.

Oberoi Realty (up 3.49%), Sunteck Realty (up 2.97%), Sobha Developers (up 0.98%) and Godrej Properties (up 0.88%) advanced.

Concurrently, Indiabulls Real Estate (down 7.79%) and Brigade Enterprises (down 1.34%) declined.

Prestige Estates Projects added 1.15% to Rs 294.50 after the realty firm on Wednesday announced that it has completed phase 1 of proposed transaction with Blackstone Group.

The enterprise value forming part of phase 1 is approximately Rs 7467 crore out of the total enterprise value of approximately Rs 9160 crore as mentioned in the initial disclosure. Phase 1 of the transaction includes sale of twelve assets/undertakings comprising of completed retail, office, hotel assets. Phase 2 of the transaction is expected to get completed by the end of next quarter.

Prestige Estates said the overall transaction (Phase 1&2) includes 100% stake sale in 6 completed office projects (include a hotel), 50% stake sale in four under construction projects and 85% stake sale in 9 Shopping malls.

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