Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sustained short build up drags Nifty futures into discount

MUMBAI: Although IT bellwether Infosys Technologies' Q3 earnings beat analyst expectations, the overall weakness across global markets weighed on the Indian stocks. In topsy-turvy trade Tuesday, Indian equities ended in the red for a fourth straight day.

National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended 1.02 per cent down at 2744 and Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex managed to close above 9000 levels at 9071.36. down 0.42 per cent.

Nifty January futures provisionally settled at a huge discount of 20 points to spot. The discount remained unchanged from 20 on Monday. The contract price slipped 0.94 per cent while open interest added 19.21 lakh shares. The sell side was twice of that buy indicating short build up in the contract. The cost of carry was at -29.6 per cent.

Huge call buying was observed at 2800 call and some amount of buying was seen at 3000 call while unwinding of long calls was witnessed at 2900 strike. On the other hand, unwinding of longs was seen at 2800 and 2700 puts indicating profit booking from bears at lower levels. However, put writing at 2600 and 2500 will continue to act as a strong support zone for Nifty.

"Traders are directionless at current levels. Volatility will continue in the coming trading sessions. Although Infosys results beat analyst estimates, it failed to give the required boost to markets. News on disclosure standards at Siemens India has once again raised the issue of corporate governance in Indian companies. Given the options build up, Nifty has a strong support at 2600-2500 zones. At current levels, I will advise players to buy straddles at 2750 strike," said Aniket Dharmadhikari, fund manager at Krug and Bordman Advisory.

The oil and gas sector was badly hit as lower crude oil prices dragged upstream oil companies lower. Crude oil fell for a sixth day in New York, its longest decline in a month, on speculation that slumping demand caused US crude inventories to accumulate.


Infosys Technologies January futures jumped 6.72 per cent adding 10 lakh shares in open interest. In face of the severe global recession, Infosys Technologies Ltd on Tuesday posted a handsome year on year growth of 35.5 per cent in sales for the third quarter.

Reliance Industries slipped 1.88 per cent while open interest added 5 lakh shares indicating modest shorts being built in the contract. Rolta India slumped 21 per cent on rumors that its promoters have sold their stake. Bharti Airtel fell 2.63 per cent while open interest added 6.4 lakh shares.

Despite the persistent liquidity crunch, Unitech futures gained 2 per cent on short covering. Total F&O turnover on NSE was at Rs 44,953 crore, down 5 per cent from Monday.

Meanwhile, stocks declined in Europe and Asia for a fifth straight day, as slumping metals and oil prices dragged down commodity producers and Alcoa said demand for aluminum may continue to weaken.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/articleshow/3973039.cms

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