Market Wrap: Nifty extended gains for third straight day; 18,000 CE strike has maximum concentration of open interest!

Nearly 108 stocks hit a new 52-week high while only seven stocks hit a fresh 52-week low on Monday.   

Market update at 3.30 PM: In the latter part of the trading session, the key benchmark indices witnessed profit booking from higher levels and ended with gains of nearly half a per cent. Sensex ended above its important psychological mark of 60,000 while Nifty closed just above the 17,900 mark.   

The broader market indices outperformed the frontline gauge with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap surging 0.91 per cent & 1.30 per cent, respectively. Given the fact that we had seen outperformance by the broader market indices, the advance-decline ratio was firmly in favour of bulls.   

Interestingly, all the sectors ended the day in green, led by Nifty Realty and Nifty Media. Nifty IT also continued its momentum, which was seen in the last trading session.  

Nearly 108 stocks hit a new 52-week high while only seven stocks hit a fresh 52-week low on Monday.   

Going ahead, on Nifty, the level of 18,000 is likely to act as a stiff resistance as the maximum concentration of open interest is seen around this strike on the Call option side with over 73 lakh shares while in today’s session, over 3 lakh shares were added (this data is on a provisional basis). 

Market update at 12:50 PM: Indices are trading near the day’s high, led by gains in Reliance, Infosys, and Axis Bank.  Meanwhile, the broader indices outperformed the frontline gauge with Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices adding 0.8 per cent & 1.23 per cent, respectively. Besides, India VIX has slipped below the 18-mark.  

All the sectors were seen trading in green with Nifty Media, Nifty IT, and Nifty Realty being the top three performers. Talking about Bank Nifty, it was seen trading near the day’s high and was comfortably placed above the 40,600 mark.  

Among stock-specific action, State Bank of India, Eicher Motors, and Adani Ports marked a fresh all-time high on NSE.

Market update at 11.15 AM: Indices have been trading higher with Nifty surging above its 17,900 level. Sensex climbed nearly 400 points while Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap have jumped 0.80 per cent & 1.21 per cent, respectively,  

All the sectors are in green while media and IT became the top performers.  

Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys have emerged as the top gainers while Coal India, JSW Steel & Shree Cement are the top losers for now.   

The advance-decline ratio stands at 1,414: 534, indicating a strong grip of the bulls over the market.   

Market update at 9.30 AM: Indices have opened higher amid positive global cues as Nifty climbed 0.38 per cent. It trades at 17,900 level while Sensex soared 215 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap have also surged 0.45 per cent & 0.90 per cent, respectively. 

All the sectors are in green while India VIX rose 2 per cent.  

Pre-market update: The US markets closed on a higher note last week as Nasdaq jumped 2.11 per cent while Dow Jones gained 377 points. Most of the Asian markets have thus, opened higher and SGX Nifty indicates a gap-up opening of about 25 points.
India's CPI data for the month of August is set to release later on Monday. Consumer inflation is widely expected to stay steady at 6.70 per cent.
Brent crude continues to trade lower amid less demand. It trades at around USD 91 per barrel.
In the last trading session, the FIIs pumped in Rs 2,132 crore while the DIIs sold to the tune of Rs 1,167 crore.
Meanwhile, Nifty is likely to open higher but intraday volatility is expected to persist ahead of CPI numbers.