Equities pare gains on F&O expiry, Nifty50 over 10,100-mark intra-day

Mumbai, July 27 (IANS) Despite witnessing another record-breaking session -- with the NSE Nifty50 breaching the 10,100-mark and the BSE Sensex extending an almost 300-point rally, the Indian equity markets were on Thursday dragged lower from peak levels to close on a muted note on the day of derivatives expiry.

The key equity indices, which touched record highs during intra-day trade, closed on a flat note as traders rolled over positions in the futures and options (F&O) segment from July series to August series and investors booked profit in automobile, healthcare and IT stocks.

According to market observers, gains were induced in the benchmark indices as a result of political developments in the country, coupled with intense buying activity in index heavyweights such as HDFC and HDFC Bank, positive global cues and inflow of foreign funds.

The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed lower by a miniscule 0.10 point at 10,020.55 points -- almost unchanged from the previous session's close. At one point, it breached the 10,100-mark to register a fresh intra-day high of 10,114.85 points.

On the other hand, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which scaled a new intra-day high of 32,672.66 points, closed at 32,383.30 points -- fractionally higher by 0.84 point from its previous session's close at 32,382.46 points.

The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,874 declines and 852 advances.

The broader markets underperformed, with the BSE mid-cap index down 0.55 per cent and the small-cap index down 0.52 per cent.

"Markets ended marginally lower on Thursday after rallying higher and touching the 10,100 levels in the morning session. The volatility came in the last hour of trade on the back of the derivatives expiry of the July series as traders rolled over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from July 2017 series to August 2017 series," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"Major Asian markets have ended on a positive note. European indices like FTSE 100 and DAX traded lower."

Jasani added that, technically, while the Nifty has corrected from new highs, the underlying trend continues to remain on the upside.

On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 25 paise to 64.11 to a US dollar from its previous close at 64.36.

In investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased scrips worth Rs 1,869.92 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 660.03 crore.

"Optimism on earnings growth and dovish tone by (US) Fed after keeping the key rates on hold energised the market. But volatility emerged towards close on account of expiry and concern over valuation which influenced investors to book profit," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"On the other hand, better-than-expected results from blue-chips will attract investors to large-caps as compared to small- and mid-caps," he added.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE automobile index declined by 191.21 points, the IT index by 184.15 points and the healthcare index by 175.17 points.

In contrast, the S&P BSE banking index rose by 221.66 points, the finance index by 79.24 points, and the capital goods index by 26.72 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: HDFC, up 5.83 per cent at Rs 1,728.50; HDFC Bank, up 2.18 per cent at Rs 1,787.95; Asian Paints, up 1.32 per cent at Rs 1,148.55; Kotak Bank, up 1.21 per cent at Rs 998.60; and State Bank of India, up 0.86 per cent at Rs 298.30.

Major Sensex losers were: Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 3.29 per cent at Rs 2,621.45; Tata Motors (DVR), down 3.07 per cent at Rs 262.20; Tata Consultancy Services, down 2.76 per cent at Rs 2,484.35; Tata Motors, down 2.43 per cent at Rs 445.65; and Bharti Airtel, down 2.40 per cent at Rs 416.