The other positive bit is the fact that the Nifty protected the March 20 swing low of 21,710, recovering from an intraday low of 21,777. There is a lot to look forward to for the index over the next two days. On Monday’s trading session, the market will react to results from HDFC Bank which were reported on Saturday, while on Tuesday, the market will react to the other Nifty heavyweight Reliance Industries, which will report results after market hours on Monday.
Friday’s recovery also meant that the Nifty managed to claw back some of the losses that it saw all through last week. Yet, the index ended 1.6% down for the week, marking its first weekly loss after four straight weeks of advances. This week will also be the monthly expiry week for the Nifty and the Nifty Bank’s contracts. For the series so far, the Nifty is down close to 200 points.
What’s happening on Wall Street is equally baffling. The Dow ended higher on Friday but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq sold off sharply courtesy a 10% drop in Nvidia, which saw its worst day since March 2020. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell for the sixth day in a row. So the handover from Wall Street is tilted towards negative.
Friday’s session also saw institutional participation to be at the bare minimum. Foreign institutions were net buyers in small quantity, while domestic institutions were also net sellers in a small amount.
Amol Athawale of Kotak Securities said that although the medium-term market texture remains negative, the pullback may continue due to the temporary oversold conditions. 22,000 now becomes a key support for the traders, while 22,350 – 22,400 will act as a resistance for the bulls.
Angel One’s Osho Krishnan does not believe that the bulls are completely out of the woods post Friday’s surge and hence caution is warranted. 22,000 remains a key support on the downside as market conditions remain tentative due to global cues. 22,300, followed by 22,430 and 22,500 on the upside will remain the key hurdles for the index.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said that the Nifty has formed a double bottom near levels of 21,750 and a bullish reversal type candle pattern on Friday. He expects levels of 22,500 in the next few sessions with immediate support around 22,000.
The Nifty Bank also recovered some bits of the weekly fall during Friday’s trading session, led predominantly by HDFC Bank, which had a strong session ahead of its earnings announcement. The earnings reaction to that on Monday will be key for the Nifty Bank’s further trajectory. It was also the first weekly loss for the Nifty Bank in five weeks after a 2% drop.
Kotak Securities’ Athawale said that 47,200 or 47,000 on the downside, which is close to its 50-Day Moving Average will be the crucial support for the Nifty Bank’s positional traders. Any bounce above that can take it back to levels of 48,000 or 48,200. Below those levels though, traders may prefer to exit from their long positions.
The Nifty Bank also managed a close above its 50-Day Exponential Moving Average, said Ashwin Ramani of SAMCO Securities. A close above levels of 47,654 along with short covering at the 47,500 strike, can trigger fresh buying in the index, he added.
What Are the F&O Cues Indicating?
Nifty 50’s futures across series shed 2% in Open Interest on Friday. They are now trading at a discount of 178.3 points compared to a 59.35 point premium earlier. Current rollovers are at 33%. On the other hand, Nifty Bank’s futures across series shed 4.6% in Open Interest on Friday. Current rollovers are at 30%. Nifty 50’s Put-Call Ratio is at 1.03 from 0.92 earlier.
Biocon is back in the F&O ban.
GNFC, Hindustan Copper and NALCO are out of the F&O ban.
Exide Industries, Balrampur Chini, Bandhan Bank, Vodafone Idea, Metropolis Healthcare, Piramal Enterprises, SAIL and Zee Entertainment remain in the F&O ban.
Nifty 50 on the Call side for April 25 expiry:
For this Thursday’s monthly F&O expiry, the Nifty 50 Call strikes between 22,500 and 22,600 have seen Open Interest addition.
| Strike | OI Change | Premium |
| 22,500 | 14.9 Lakh Added | 25.7 |
| 22,600 | 12.3 Lakh Added | 13.05 |
| 22,550 | 10.5 Lakh Added | 18.25 |
Nifty 50 on the Put side for April 25 expiry:
On the Put side, the Nifty 50 strikes between 21,700 to 22,000 have seen Open Interest addition for this Thursday’s expiry.
| Strike | OI Change | Premium |
| 21,800 | 20.2 Lakh Added | 64.55 |
| 21,900 | 16 Lakh Added | 84.05 |
| 21,700 | 14.9 Lakh Added | 49.6 |
| 22,000 | 9.9 Lakh Added | 109.85 |
These stocks witnessed short covering during Friday’s trading session, meaning an increase in price but decline in Open Interest:
| Stock | Price Change | OI Change |
| IndusInd Bank | 0.21% | -18.26% |
| RBL Bank | 3.19% | -18.22% |
| ICICI Bank | 0.96% | -17.78% |
| Tata Steel | 0.72% | -15.44% |
| ONGC | 0.16% | -14.18% |
These stocks saw unwinding of long positions during Friday’s trading session, meaning a decline in both price and Open Interest:
| Stock | Price Change | OI Change |
| Exide Industries | -1.61% | -15.37% |
| BPCL | -1.06% | -13.71% |
| HDFC Life | -1.13% | -11.95% |
| Infosys | -0.74% | -11.24% |
| Interglobe Aviation | -1.17% | -11.08% |
These are the stocks to watch out for ahead of Monday’s trading session:
- HDFC Bank: Net profit at ₹16,511.9 crore compared to a CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹18,361.5 crore. Gross NPA at 1.25% from 1.26%, while net NPA at 0.33% from 0.31% in December. The bank has made floating provisions worth ₹10,900 crore in the March quarter and also recommended a dividend of ₹19.5 per share. HDFC Bank also plans to raise ₹60,000 crore through debt instruments.
- Wipro: Reports fifth consecutive quarter of revenue decline for the March quarter. Ended FY24 with a constant currency revenue decline of 4.4% compared to TCS’ 3.4% and Infosys’ 1.4% growth. Q1 guidance of -1.5% to 0.5%, compared to estimates of 0% to 2% growth. Headcount also fell for the sixth quarter in a row. Continues to see green shoots in Capco, which saw 44% sequential growth in order bookings.
- Jio Financial Services: Interest income at ₹280.7 crore from ₹269 crore sequentially. Total ex-dividend income at ₹418.1 crore from ₹413.6 crore sequentially.
- Aditya Birla Fashion: Approves demerger of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle into newly incorporated Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands. ABLBL will be listed separately on completion of the merger. Aditya Birla Fashion shareholders will get one new share of the demerged entity for every one share held of ABFRL. Post demerger, ABFRL will raise up to ₹2,500 crore within a 12-month period.
- IREDA: Reports all-time high annual net profit of ₹1,252 crore, a growth of 45% over last year. Net NPA down to 0.99% from 1.66% at the end of financial year 2023. Loan book grew by 27% to ₹59,6898 crore. Loan disbursements grew by 16% to ₹21,639.21 crore, marking the highest annual loan disbursement and sanction in the company’s history.
- Sterling & Wilson Renewables: Revenue growth of over 50% to ₹3,035 crore. Turns EBITDA positive with a ₹54 crore figure in financial year 2024, aided by the growing domestic EPC business. Achieved gross margin in excess of 10% for the year. Unexecuted order value has grown 64% with net debt reduction by over 90%. Unexecuted order book at over ₹8,000 crore.
- UltraTech Cement: Board approves purchase of a grinding unit having an installed capacity of 1.1 MTPA in addition to a captive railway siding at Parli in Maharashtra from The India Cements for a consideration of ₹315 crore. The purchase will help UltraTech strengthen its presence in the Maharashtra market.
- JSW Energy: Arm JSW Neo Energy gets a Letter of Award for 700 MW ISTS connected solar capacity from NTPC. Total locked-in generation capacity increases to 13.3 GW of which 3.1 GW is of solar power.
- National Fertilisers: Department of Public Enterprises has granted the company “Navratna” status.
Omprakash Tiwary is a business writer who delves into the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and economic landscape. He offers readers valuable insights into market trends, entrepreneurship, and economic developments.
